Woodline Partners LP Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 39.3%, acquiring an additional 11,384 shares, bringing its total holdings to 40,378 shares valued at $13.3 million.
• Insider activity includes significant sales from Jason Kaiser and Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III, with Kaiser selling 2,161 shares and Umpleby selling 17,168 shares recently.
• Caterpillar's stock performance shows a 1-year high of $441.15 and a low of $267.30, with the latest earnings report revealing an EPS of $4.72, below the consensus estimate of $4.88.

Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 39.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 11,384 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $0.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $435.07. 527,616 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,715,934. The firm's fifty day moving average is $420.93 and its 200-day moving average is $366.13. The stock has a market cap of $203.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CAT. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $457.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.