American Money Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

American Money Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. American Money Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,037,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 65.7% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 3,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 99.6% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 8,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 4,273 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $329.65 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $354.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.24. The firm has a market cap of $157.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.