Kestra Advisory Services LLC Purchases 6,479 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,479 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $59,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar 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 directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $340.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $162.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $360.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $372.35. 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

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.