Hoey Investments Inc. Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 143.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,248 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 223.1% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 37,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,535,000 after buying an additional 4,643 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 3,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 72.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 88,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,262,000 after buying an additional 37,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.8 %

CAT opened at $329.65 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $354.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CAT. Bank of America dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Company 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.