Forefront Wealth Management Inc. Makes New $2.53 Million Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,000. Caterpillar accounts for about 2.3% of Forefront Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Plancorp LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 10,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 45,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,600,000 after purchasing an additional 14,316 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $933,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was 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 Caterpillar stock opened at $335.49 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $358.61 and a 200-day moving average of $371.83. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.