Focus Partners Wealth Buys 8,065 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% in Q3, buying 8,065 shares to hold 317,899 shares (about 0.07%) valued at roughly $151.43 million.
• Insider selling has been substantial — insiders sold 135,950 shares (~$94.33 million) over the past three months, including large disposals by Lange Bob De and Denise C. Johnson, leaving insiders with about 0.33% ownership.
• Caterpillar beat quarterly estimates with $5.16 EPS and $19.13 billion revenue (revenue +17.9% YoY); analysts rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" on average with a $730.50 price target and some firms (e.g., JPMorgan) raising targets toward $860.

Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 317,899 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,065 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.07% of Caterpillar worth $151,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 107.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 89 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 79,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,574,954.83. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,524,818. This represents a 47.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $678.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $765.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $730.50.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $693.89 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $693.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $586.07. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $789.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $322.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.53.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company's revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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