Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Holderness Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 16,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,858,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 50,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,216,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,833,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $336.09 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $358.92 and its 200-day moving average is $371.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. 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.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.