Umpqua Bank Decreases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Umpqua Bank lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up approximately 0.9% of Umpqua Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $335.49 on Friday. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $160.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, 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.

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 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 forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.