Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Checchi Capital Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 10.5% during the second quarter, now holding 5,616 shares valued at approximately $2.18 million.
• Several analysts have increased their price targets for Caterpillar, with JPMorgan raising it from $475 to $520 and Bank of America from $495 to $517, suggesting positive sentiment in the market.
• Insiders have recently sold a total of 38,819 shares of Caterpillar stock worth around $16.89 million over the past ninety days, indicating potential profit-taking by leadership.

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 10.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,616 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 661 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. GSB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,575 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $466.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total value of $7,941,849.90. Following the sale, the chairman owned 465,339 shares in the company, valued at $215,289,088.35. This trade represents a 3.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $498.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $504.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.46. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $436.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $378.76.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report).

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.