1,867 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Bought by American Trust

American Trust purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the third quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 31.8% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.5% in the third quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 35,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,822,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.0% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,201,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $197,205,000 after buying an additional 174,361 shares during the period. 68.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $215.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $111.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.03. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.60 and a fifty-two week high of $266.04.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.95 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $16.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.84 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.61% and a net margin of 11.28%. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 15.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.29 per share, with a total value of $99,716.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,616.61. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, General Counsel Suzette M. Long sold 8,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.04, for a total transaction of $2,008,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,203,127.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.29 per share, with a total value of $99,716.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,616.61. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 90,984 shares of company stock valued at $22,519,893 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $230.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Cowen raised their price target on Caterpillar from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Cowen raised their price target on Caterpillar from $240.00 to $264.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Caterpillar from $174.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.00.

Caterpillar Profile

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Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.