Aviva PLC Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 292,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,137 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $106,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 318,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $287.57 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $281.50 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $346.83 and a 200 day moving average of $371.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.