Meeder Asset Management Inc. Purchases 174 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 223.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $91,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,193,154,000 after acquiring an additional 61,723 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased 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 represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $330.40 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $352.51 and its 200-day moving average is $372.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS 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.