Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $69.35 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,780 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $69,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after purchasing an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $97,042,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,060,000 after acquiring an additional 244,253 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Caterpillar by 104.6% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,768,000 after acquiring an additional 200,134 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 28,321.2% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 200,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 199,948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $368.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $343.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $344.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $180.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10.

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 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 prior year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 price objective (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar 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.