United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Sells 2,281 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,888 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,281 shares during the quarter. 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 have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 588 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $5,025,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 1,736 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Finally, Charis Legacy Partners LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $606,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT traded up $3.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $293.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,716,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,101. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $327.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.98. The company has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $361.64.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

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

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.