Mendel Money Management Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mendel Money Management boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $342.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $163.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $357.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.46. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.