N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Sells 55 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, ACT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC now owns 877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC upped their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.35.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $342.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,653,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,509,182. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.60 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $352.22 and its 200 day moving average is $304.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.