Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Has $2.72 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.13.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $371.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $179.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $299.93 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $380.88 and a 200-day moving average of $371.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.71 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.