Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV Sells 91 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kercheville Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 2,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $861,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $512,000. Inscription Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $1,368,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 38.9% in the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:CAT opened at $362.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.55. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.92.

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.