World Investment Advisors Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 157.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,315 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’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 value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 8.6 %

CAT stock opened at $305.75 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $301.26 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $146.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $349.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $371.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

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 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Caterpillar

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.