Cozad Asset Management Inc. Buys 239 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $782,109,000 after purchasing an additional 318,891 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,168.5% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,361,000 after purchasing an additional 226,415 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $340.46 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $162.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $360.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $372.66.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.