AIA Group Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,312 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,643 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded down $18.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $287.57. The company had a trading volume of 7,214,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,565,853. The firm has a market cap of $137.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $281.50 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The business's 50 day moving average price is $346.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $371.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Bank of America dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.