Wealthfront Advisers LLC Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 141.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 81,245 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $50,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $291,938,000 after acquiring an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased 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 valued at $782,109,000 after acquiring an additional 318,891 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased 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 valued at $99,874,000 after acquiring an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased 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 valued at $82,361,000 after acquiring an additional 226,415 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $344.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $362.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $373.00. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.