Franklin Resources Inc. Has $168.24 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 463,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 20,471 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.10% of Caterpillar worth $168,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 3.8 %

CAT stock traded down $11.03 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $277.05. The company had a trading volume of 3,081,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,570,471. The company has a market capitalization of $132.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $268.29 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $346.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $371.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

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

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.