Stifel Financial Corp Sells 12,613 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 653,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,613 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.14% of Caterpillar worth $236,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $293.82 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $327.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $363.58.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (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, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $361.64.

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.