HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Acquires 665 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up 0.7% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 463,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $168,243,000 after buying an additional 20,471 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 19,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 37,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,689,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 143.1% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 2,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 548,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,884,000 after buying an additional 5,248 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.8 %

CAT stock opened at $329.65 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.