Flaharty Asset Management LLC Sells 40 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Flaharty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after acquiring an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,349,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $527,859,000 after acquiring an additional 30,609 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’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 owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $343.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $365.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $372.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

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.