Short Interest in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Declines By 6.8%

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) saw a large drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,100,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the August 15th total of 10,840,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Souders Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 price objective (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $355.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar 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 quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $342.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $344.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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