Park National Corp OH Has $3.18 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Park National Corp OH decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $324.87 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $345.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $325.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $158.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.81 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. 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 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.