Bollard Group LLC Buys 11,408 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Bollard Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 5.3%, buying an additional 11,408 shares to hold 226,762 shares worth about $108.2 million, making CAT its 7th-largest position (≈2.5% of Bollard's holdings).
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares and CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares — with insiders disposing of 135,950 shares worth $94.33 million in the last quarter and now owning just 0.33% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target of $730.50, and Caterpillar recently beat estimates with Q results of $5.16 EPS (vs. $4.67 expected) and $19.13 billion in revenue (vs. $17.81 billion expected).

Bollard Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 226,762 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,408 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 2.5% of Bollard Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Bollard Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $108,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,165,899,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.3% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,237,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 82.0% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,820,000 after buying an additional 12,278 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 155.9% during the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,014,000 after acquiring an additional 28,773 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $8,893,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, February 6th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. DA Davidson boosted 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $730.50.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total value of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 35,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,222,221.19. This represents a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $693.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $789.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $693.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $585.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.14 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Caterpillar

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.

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