Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by CHICAGO TRUST Co NA

Key Points

• CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 71.6%, now holding 1,656 shares valued at $643,000 as of the end of the second quarter.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Caterpillar, with several brokerages raising their target prices, including JPMorgan Chase, which now has a target of $520.00.
• Insider sales have occurred, with notable trades by executives, including a sale of 17,168 shares by Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III for over $7 million.

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 71.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,656 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $464.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar 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 directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chairman 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $471.77 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $427.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $485.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 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 was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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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