United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Has $18.10 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,281 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,025,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 1,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $429,000. Finally, Charis Legacy Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $606,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.87.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $293.37 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $331.31 and its 200-day moving average is $365.85. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $140.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

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.