D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. Cuts Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $329.65 on Monday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $354.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.50. The company has a market cap of $157.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.