1,091 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Purchased by Prentice Wealth Management LLC

Prentice Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $926,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,688,000 after purchasing an additional 9,321 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 3.1% in the second 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, M&G Plc bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $15,009,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $1.16 on Monday, hitting $398.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,213,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,665,870. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $351.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.99. 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 market cap of $194.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month 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 the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during 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%. Caterpillar’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. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

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.