Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,665 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 65.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 3,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 99.6% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 8,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,273 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $329.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $354.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $372.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $157.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. 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 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%. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. 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. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 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. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar 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.