Ascent Group LLC Purchases 2,828 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 172.5%, acquiring an additional 2,828 shares and bringing its total ownership to 4,467 shares valued at approximately $1.47 million.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Caterpillar, with Truist Financial setting a new target of $507.00 and Bank of America at $495.00, both maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Caterpillar reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.72, missing the consensus estimate by 16 cents, while the company's revenue for the quarter stood at $16.57 billion, surpassing analyst expectations.

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 172.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $457.20.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:CAT opened at $417.96 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $418.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $363.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $441.15. 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 company has a market cap of $195.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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