Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 2.2% of Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $25,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.3 %

CAT stock opened at $342.65 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $357.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $372.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar 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.