Kovack Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,183,000. Herold Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 1,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA now owns 1,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc grew its position in Caterpillar by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 1,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Caterpillar by 5,293.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after acquiring an additional 473,416 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:CAT traded up $5.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $343.38. 3,324,630 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,414,735. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $350.10 and its 200-day moving average is $300.80. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.04 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.3 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.