CoreFirst Bank & Trust Buys New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Grantvest Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $289,000. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $417,000. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 105.2% during the fourth quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 60,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

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

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE CAT opened at $341.83 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $358.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.36. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $163.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.