Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 60.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,765 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $43,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after purchasing an additional 64,452 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,193,154,000 after buying an additional 61,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $782,109,000 after buying an additional 318,891 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CAT shares. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $339.66 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $162.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.93.

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

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.