Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,962 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 5.7% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $22,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,193,154,000 after buying an additional 61,723 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America cut their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $339.66 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $362.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.93.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (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, equities research 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.