Great Waters Wealth Management Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Great Waters Wealth Management acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,139,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,406,471,000 after acquiring an additional 173,108 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after buying an additional 75,973 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,022,488,000 after buying an additional 165,358 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 10.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,431,000 after purchasing an additional 198,123 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $6.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $397.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,675,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,668,227. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $351.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $348.09. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $397.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $194.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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