AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 6,767 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 7.6%, owning 81,978 shares valued at approximately $26.63 million after selling 6,767 shares.
• Caterpillar's stock price increased to $431.62, with a 52-week range of $267.30 to $441.15, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $4.72 per share, missing estimates of $4.88.
• Recent analyst reports indicate a generally positive outlook for Caterpillar, with multiple firms upgrading their price targets and ratings, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,978 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,767 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $26,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, August 29th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $457.20.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $431.10. 2,341,271 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,399,245. The company's fifty day moving average is $420.04 and its 200-day moving average is $365.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $201.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

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.