Mechanics Financial Corp Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mechanics Financial Corp decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $329.65 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $157.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $354.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.98.

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 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, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.