Gries Financial LLC Takes $236,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gries Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 984 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $33,000. Cowa LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $33,000. Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $40,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $62,000. 68.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 23,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.14, for a total transaction of $5,700,203.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,605 shares in the company, valued at $2,066,404.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 6,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.22, for a total transaction of $1,524,905.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,038 shares in the company, valued at $1,265,646.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 23,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.14, for a total transaction of $5,700,203.18. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,066,404.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,984 shares of company stock worth $22,519,893 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE CAT opened at $215.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.03. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.60 and a twelve month high of $266.04. The stock has a market cap of $111.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.11.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.95 by ($0.09). Caterpillar had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 45.61%. The company had revenue of $16.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 15.67 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $228.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $174.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.00.

Caterpillar Profile

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Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.