Moors & Cabot Inc. Lowers Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 543 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,168.5% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was 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 Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $339.66 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $362.29 and a 200 day moving average of $372.93. The firm has a market cap of $162.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.