Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Cannell & Spears LLC

Cannell & Spears LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 37,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,689,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 143.1% during the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 2,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $796,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 548,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $198,884,000 after buying an additional 5,248 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 223.1% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 37,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,535,000 after acquiring an additional 4,643 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE CAT opened at $329.65 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $354.99 and a 200 day moving average of $372.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, DA Davidson increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents 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.

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.