Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $17,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $338.50 on Thursday. 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 one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $361.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.69. The stock has a market cap of $161.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS 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, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.