Associated Banc Corp Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Associated Banc Corp decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,845 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $19,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $340.46 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $360.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $372.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $162.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.