Madison Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $8.52 Million Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 23,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,516,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 803,166 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,168.5% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,361,000 after purchasing an additional 226,415 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lowered their price target 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 raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $333.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $361.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.