Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $339.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $162.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $362.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.93. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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.