14,191 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Acquired by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 14,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,148,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $335.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $358.61 and a 200-day moving average of $371.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.