1,401 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Acquired by VSM Wealth Advisory LLC

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 198.1% in the 4th quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 4,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,192 shares during the period. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $755,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 231,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,849,000 after purchasing an additional 55,564 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,555,000. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 3,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.7 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $336.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $160.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G 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. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $359.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.