Loudon Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Loudon Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.6% of Loudon Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 803,166 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake 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 buying an additional 318,891 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its stake 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 buying an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 226,415 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $336.09 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $358.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.98.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS 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.