Sound Income Strategies LLC Acquires 161 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. MFA Wealth Services purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $639,000. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 5,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,153,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 16,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,881,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $407.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $380.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.65. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $293.13 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $196.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

About Caterpillar

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.