Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $1.92 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 705 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Caterpillar by 34.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after buying an additional 200,210 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $54,997,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $342.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $366.82 and its 200 day moving average is $372.88. The company has a market cap of $163.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

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.