Sunburst Financial Group LLC Sells 54 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sunburst Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC raised their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of CAT traded up $3.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $331.06. The stock had a trading volume of 875,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,655,362. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $340.74 and its 200 day moving average is $328.07. The firm has a market cap of $161.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.