Choate Investment Advisors Has $2.70 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Choate Investment Advisors reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 714 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $340.46 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $360.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. 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.