Portus Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $1.78 Million in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,779,000. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.8% of Portus Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,656,286,000 after buying an additional 208,196 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $2,165,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,494,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,098,964 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 20.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,757,000 after purchasing an additional 609,023 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after purchasing an additional 33,467 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $703.53 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $789.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $697.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $589.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.54. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Williams Trading set a $825.00 target price on Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $765.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $640.00 to $790.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $730.50.

Caterpillar 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.