Carlson Capital Management Purchases Shares of 604 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Carlson Capital Management purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 168.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 5,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after buying an additional 3,711 shares in the last quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 56,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,212,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,277.1% in the 3rd quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 33,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,249,000 after buying an additional 32,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CAT opened at $342.66 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $360.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $372.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.