United Bank Takes $704,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

United Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $704,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $800,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.8 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $329.65 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $354.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar 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 in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company 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.