14,191 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Bought by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,148,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after purchasing an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 61,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $335.49 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $358.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $371.83.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate 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.