Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $571,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Sandy Spring Bank grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 15,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,540,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 507,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $150,000,000 after acquiring an additional 368,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Bank of America dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $337.38.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $2.10 on Friday, reaching $338.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,668,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,098. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $333.35 and a 200 day moving average of $339.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

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.