Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 362 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $287,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 413,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,814,000 after acquiring an additional 7,118 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,288,000. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 142,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,812,000 after acquiring an additional 11,498 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $338.60 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $359.41 and a 200-day moving average of $372.23. The firm has a market cap of $161.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.