Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Manning & Napier Group LLC

Manning & Napier Group LLC lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 23,674 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $41,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $2,343,859,000 after buying an additional 9,776,533 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,175,255,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $433,134,000. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 24,982.9% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,538,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,808,000 after buying an additional 1,531,952 shares during the period. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2,265.3% during the 3rd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,117,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,168,000 after buying an additional 1,070,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $274.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.89.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5 %

CAT traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $366.43. 2,028,629 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,158,563. The company has a market cap of $183.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $328.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $204.04 and a one year high of $367.22.

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.