Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 50.2% in the second quarter, now owning 11,420 shares valued at approximately $4.43 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Caterpillar's stock ratings, with price targets from $500 to $513, reflecting strong investor confidence.
• Caterpillar reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $4.72, slightly below the expected $4.88, despite revenue exceeding expectations at $16.57 billion.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 50.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,420 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,491 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its position in 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 acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Two 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $466.53.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $490.88 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $495.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $435.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $377.37. The company has a market cap of $229.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.