Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stake Boosted by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $17,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $782,109,000 after buying an additional 318,891 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $338.50 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $361.80 and a 200-day moving average of $372.69. The company has a market capitalization of $161.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, 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 quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America cut their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar 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.