Riverbend Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Riverbend Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.5 %

CAT stock opened at $344.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $362.75 and a 200 day moving average of $373.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.