Synovus Financial Corp Sells 94 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Synovus Financial Corp cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. now owns 7,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,221,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 70,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,592,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,088,000. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $373.20.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $293.35 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $333.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $367.17. The company has a market capitalization of $140.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.