Principle Wealth Partners LLC Has $7.87 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 554 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,572,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $198,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $363.11 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $376.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $371.73. The stock has a market cap of $175.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.