2,572 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Purchased by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 120.4% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,123,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 5.1% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 27,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,732,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.8% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $340.91 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $356.95 and its 200-day moving average is $372.24. The firm has a market cap of $162.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.