Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 962 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 493,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 962 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.10% of Caterpillar worth $164,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $926,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,688,000 after purchasing an additional 9,321 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 13,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised 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. Barclays increased 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. Bank of America cut 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. 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. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $368.85 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $344.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.