Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 130,632.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,343,859,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,533 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,440,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $892,724,000 after acquiring an additional 92,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:CAT traded up $1.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $366.38. 2,028,222 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,469,203. The firm has a market cap of $182.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.16. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $367.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $325.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $274.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.89.

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.