Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 8,302,639 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the February 12th total of 10,003,029 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,813,488 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,813,488 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Rodney Michael Shurman sold 2,278 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $759.61, for a total transaction of $1,730,391.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,117.23. The trade was a 61.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,574,954.83. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,572,681,000 after acquiring an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,273,039,000 after purchasing an additional 385,204 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,072,572,000 after purchasing an additional 94,524 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,860,457,000 after purchasing an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5%

CAT stock traded up $3.75 on Tuesday, reaching $703.53. 1,823,641 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,864,080. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $697.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $589.94. The company has a market cap of $327.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.54. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $789.81. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $735.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $785.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $760.00 to $785.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $625.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $730.50.

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.