Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Argent Advisors Inc.

Argent Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up approximately 0.9% of Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $342.66 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $360.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $372.60. The firm has a market cap of $163.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

About Caterpillar

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.