Cannell & Spears LLC Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cannell & Spears LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.8 %

CAT opened at $329.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $354.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.50. The firm 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 Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Analysts predict 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.