Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 83.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 94,025 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $854,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.9% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,208,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 26.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $361.75.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $306.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $146.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50-day moving average price is $321.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $360.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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