Meeder Asset Management Inc. Acquires 174 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 223.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $91,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,193,154,000 after buying an additional 61,723 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2 %

CAT stock opened at $330.40 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price 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 shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.