Sound Income Strategies LLC Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $407.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $293.13 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $196.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $380.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.65.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company 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.