Sandy Spring Bank Sells 195 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sandy Spring Bank lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $880,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 67.3% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $508,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 198.1% in the fourth quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 4,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,747,000 after buying an additional 3,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $755,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 transaction 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. This 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $338.60 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $359.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $372.23. 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 stock has a market cap of $161.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year 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 (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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.