HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Raises Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 665 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 0.7% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of CAT opened at $329.65 on Monday. 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 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $157.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $354.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 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.