Tortoise Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 182 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $36,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 5.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 16,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,560,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $242,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $220,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $344.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $164.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a PEG 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $362.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $373.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.