Twin Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 0.6% of Twin Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,193,154,000 after acquiring an additional 61,723 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $287.57 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $137.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $346.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $371.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $269.43 and a one year high of $418.50. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.