Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Purchases New Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 120.4% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 2,105 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 27,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,732,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,201,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar 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 directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $339.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.01. The company has a market cap of $162.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share 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.