Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 65.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,417 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.0% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 72,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,894,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154 shares during the period. Telemus Capital LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.0% in the third quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 16.5% during the third quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,104,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 25.7% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 326,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $87,722,000 after buying an additional 66,767 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $336.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $205.60 and a one year high of $382.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $351.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.