Ipsen Advisor Group LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ipsen Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $782,109,000 after buying an additional 318,891 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $342.65 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $357.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $372.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $163.76 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.