Ellsworth Advisors LLC Sells 15,329 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Ellsworth Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 91.9%, selling over 15,000 shares and leaving it with only 1,357 shares valued at approximately $448,000.
• Caterpillar's stock opened at $431.62, with analysts updating price targets; Citigroup raised its target to $500.00, and Barclays increased it to $425.00.
• Despite a revenue rise to $16.57 billion in its latest quarter, Caterpillar reported an EPS of $4.72, missing estimates and showing a decline from $5.99 in the prior year.

Ellsworth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 91.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,357 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,329 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 29th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $457.20.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $3.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $438.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,297,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,720,058. The company has a market capitalization of $205.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $420.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $366.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15. 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 (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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.