Park National Corp OH Sells 230 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Park National Corp OH cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE CAT opened at $324.87 on Wednesday. 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 firm 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $345.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.