Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 111.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 130,632.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,343,859,000 after acquiring an additional 9,776,533 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after buying an additional 781,111 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,440,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $892,724,000 after purchasing an additional 92,360 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $1.73 during trading on Thursday, reaching $366.38. 2,028,222 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,469,203. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $325.46 and its 200 day moving average is $287.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $367.22. The firm has a market cap of $182.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $274.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.