Foster Group Inc. Acquires 80 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Foster Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Souders Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the first quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the first quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% in the first quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $339.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $398.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,224,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,665,927. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $351.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.99. The firm has a market cap of $194.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $401.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.