Aventail Capital Group LP Purchases 10,614 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Aventail Capital Group LP increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 31.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 10,614 shares during the quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $21,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Caterpillar by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 900,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $429,679,000 after acquiring an additional 60,080 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 944.3% in the third quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 11,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,277,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 61.7% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 925,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $441,424,000 after purchasing an additional 352,961 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 32,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,736,000 after purchasing an additional 3,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in Caterpillar by 24.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 343,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,100,000 after purchasing an additional 67,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0%

Caterpillar stock opened at $693.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $693.92 and its 200-day moving average is $585.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.54. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $789.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $735.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $765.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 price target on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $730.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total value of $1,797,325.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 7,891 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $776.90, for a total value of $6,130,517.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,236,946.70. This represents a 14.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.