Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Boosted by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 507,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,554 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up approximately 1.3% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $184,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upped 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade 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 Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $329.65 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $354.99 and a 200-day moving average of $372.24. The company has a market capitalization of $157.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share 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.