Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Brendel Financial Advisors LLC purchased 9,072 shares of Caterpillar Inc., valued at approximately $3.5 million, marking Caterpillar as the firm's 16th largest holding.
• Insider trading reports indicate Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares, decreasing his ownership by 3.44%, while corporate insiders have sold a total of 21,653 shares in the last three months.
• Wall Street analysts have generally positive outlooks on Caterpillar, with recent upgrades to price targets and ratings, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $460.20.

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,072 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,522,000. Caterpillar comprises 2.0% of Brendel Financial Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $464.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded up $3.03 on Tuesday, hitting $475.13. 1,904,533 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,755,585. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $426.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $370.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $485.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

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.