Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Increased by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 125.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,170 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Rollins Financial raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 6,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. 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 quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAT. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 price target (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $368.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $180.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $343.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $344.75.

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

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Company 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.