PFG Advisors Sells 646 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

PFG Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 646 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,938,000 after acquiring an additional 803,166 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $782,109,000 after purchasing an additional 318,891 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 226,415 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $339.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $362.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.93. The company has a market cap of $162.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.