Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Raised by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 191,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,524 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $63,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $391.08 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $397.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $346.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.