Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 94,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,645 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 4.5% of Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $34,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 105.2% in the fourth quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 60,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Finally, Clune & Associates LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,083,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $335.49 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $358.61 and a 200-day moving average of $372.30. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.