Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Slagle Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 6,858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $390,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 297,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,876,000 after acquiring an additional 31,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 302,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $109,898,000 after purchasing an additional 16,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 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. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $329.65 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $354.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.24. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $157.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.