Axa S.A. Sells 11,178 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Axa S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 165,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,178 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $55,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CAT. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 target price (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.0 %

CAT opened at $378.35 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $389.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $345.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $345.68. The firm has a market cap of $183.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s 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 owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar 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 value of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 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.