AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC Sells 2,809 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 28.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,809 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up about 1.4% of AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 47,258 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,660,560,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $328.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,913,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,143. The firm has a market cap of $160.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $337.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $330.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.63.

About Caterpillar

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.