Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 51,679 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 31.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 51,679 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $36,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $11,750,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $373.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The stock has a market cap of $182.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $343.01 and its 200 day moving average is $344.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management 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.