King Luther Capital Management Corp Purchases 66 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $368.85 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $343.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $344.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $180.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.