Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $1,660,560,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 27,495.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,182,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,168 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after purchasing an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after purchasing an additional 473,416 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7 %

CAT traded up $5.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $333.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,891,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,519,845. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $162.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $340.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.