Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $926,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $92,688,000 after acquiring an additional 9,321 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 13,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,475,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price target (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought 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 approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $371.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $181.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $344.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $345.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.