Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 38.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $805,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 18,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,029 shares during the last quarter. Gouws Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 14,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 17,622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,393,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 6,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $335.49 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year 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 $358.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.05. The stock has a market cap of $160.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

About Caterpillar

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.