AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 683 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $329.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $157.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $354.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $371.98. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.