Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 4,222 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 19.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,041 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,222 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 184 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,907,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 205 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the first quarter. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $404.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:CAT traded down $2.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $405.73. 2,072,409 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,412. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $360.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $348.06. The company has a market cap of $191.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.