Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Buys 270 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 22.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $333.26 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $361.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 shares were 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 trade represents a 27.87 % 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.

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.