Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 297,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 31,268 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $107,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after acquiring an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $782,109,000 after purchasing an additional 318,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s 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 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. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $329.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $354.99 and a 200 day moving average of $371.98. 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 company 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. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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.