Wintrust Investments LLC Sells 416 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Wintrust Investments LLC lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 45.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $782,109,000 after buying an additional 318,891 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after acquiring an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,361,000 after acquiring an additional 226,415 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $338.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $161.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $361.80 and a 200-day moving average of $372.69. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % 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, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 company 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.