Grant Private Wealth Management Inc Takes $304,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 38.8% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 3,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 5,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,032,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $335.16 on Thursday. 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 $160.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.07.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by insiders.

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.