Souders Financial Advisors Sells 238 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Souders Financial Advisors trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 282,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $102,387,000 after acquiring an additional 119,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $109,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE CAT opened at $326.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $156.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $364.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.98.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

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.