Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 1,694 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 27,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,694 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $394.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $381.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $370.23. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $299.93 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company 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.