Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Has $429,000 Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $370.79 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.94 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $366.20. The firm has a market cap of $179.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $381.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Corporate 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.