First Financial Bank Trust Division Has $8.76 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 726 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $926,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3.5% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,688,000 after buying an additional 9,321 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.1% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 13,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,475,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $15,009,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $394.09 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $349.66 and a 200-day moving average of $347.47. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $397.22. The stock has a market cap of $192.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar 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.