Haverford Trust Co Cuts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Haverford Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 282,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,303,000 after acquiring an additional 11,487 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 4.8% during the third quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $341.83 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $358.19 and a 200-day moving average of $372.36. The company has a market capitalization of $163.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G 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 posted 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.