Plancorp LLC Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Plancorp LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $335.49 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $358.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $371.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.