Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,879,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. High Falls Advisors Inc boosted its position in Caterpillar by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 4,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,619,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Invst LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Covington Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $4,775,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $390.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $191.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $397.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.82. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.