Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,061 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,938,000 after acquiring an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $782,109,000 after acquiring an additional 318,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $339.35 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $356.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.01. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Two 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 price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by 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.