WESCAP Management Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

WESCAP Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 68.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. WESCAP Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $393,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 976.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 31,796 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,441,000 after purchasing an additional 28,841 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 38.8% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 4.4 %

NYSE:CAT traded down $12.56 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $275.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,570,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,918. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $346.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.43. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.