Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 130,533 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 453,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 130,533 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $164,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $800,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $279.24 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $344.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $370.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

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.