Sowell Financial Services LLC Sells 1,000 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sowell Financial Services LLC lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 1,843 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,545,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 97,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,037,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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Caterpillar Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $350.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $363.11 and a 200 day moving average of $372.77.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.

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.

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