West Oak Capital LLC Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 272.4% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 730.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,792.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded up $0.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $365.29. The stock had a trading volume of 443,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,442,395. The firm has a market cap of $182.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $366.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.25 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their target price for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.89.

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.