King Luther Capital Management Corp Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

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

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CAT opened at $368.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $180.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $343.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $344.75.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. UBS Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 three months, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. Corporate 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.