Zullo Investment Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 272.4% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 730.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $366.43. 2,028,629 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,158,563. The firm has a market cap of $183.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.16. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $367.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $328.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.33. 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 earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.89.

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.