Blair William & Co. IL Has $39.16 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Blair William & Co. IL lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $39,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Zega Financial LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 51.2% during the second quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 3,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 49,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,103,000 after buying an additional 4,348 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 9,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,291,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 12.5% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 27,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,039,000 after buying an additional 3,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Caterpillar by 33.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 133,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,194,000 after acquiring an additional 33,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $355.13 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $342.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $344.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

About Caterpillar

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.