Sandy Spring Bank Sells 195 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sandy Spring Bank reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $338.60 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $359.41 and its 200 day moving average is $372.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lifted 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. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

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.