Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 8.5% in Q2, now owning 6,371 shares valued at approximately $2.47 million.
• Caterpillar reported earnings of $4.72 per share for the last quarter, missing expectations of $4.88, and generated revenue of $16.57 billion, which slightly exceeded forecasts.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded Caterpillar's stock ratings recently, with new price targets increasing to between $388.00 and $540.00, indicating a general optimism about the company's future performance.

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 8.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 590 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st 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 period. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $498.48 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $436.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $378.48. The firm has a market cap of $233.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $504.48. 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 (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $466.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 465,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,289,088.35. This represents a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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.