Choate Investment Advisors Has $2.70 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Choate Investment Advisors decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 714 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth 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 period. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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 price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 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 directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $340.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $162.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $360.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $372.49.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.