Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Signal Advisors Wealth LLC

Signal Advisors Wealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 177 shares during the quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $362.82 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $381.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $365.94. The company has a market cap of $175.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $276.94 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.