Hilltop Holdings Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 107.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 89 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 45,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This trade represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $730.50.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $700.09 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $789.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $695.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $587.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $325.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.