Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Trustmark National Bank Trust Department

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 70,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,370,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 16,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,111,000 after buying an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 5,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total transaction of $815,517.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,514,778. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $253.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.26. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.04 and a 52-week high of $293.88.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $5.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $16.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.57 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.29% and a net margin of 13.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 23rd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 29.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $274.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Caterpillar from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $183.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $323.00 to $297.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $267.68.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.