Stifel Financial Corp Lowers Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 653,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,613 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $236,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $361.64.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $293.82 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $327.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $363.58. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.