United Bank Takes $704,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

United Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $704,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after buying an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 65.7% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 3,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $433,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 99.6% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 8,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $329.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.24. 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 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

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.