Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Boosted by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,558 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $60,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $782,109,000 after buying an additional 318,891 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $99,874,000 after acquiring an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Caterpillar

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE CAT traded down $9.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $329.65. 1,965,220 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,538,598. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $354.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.