Friday Financial Buys New Shares in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Friday Financial has acquired 1,303 shares of Caterpillar Inc., valued at approximately $506,000, as per their recent SEC filing.
• Institutional investors collectively own 70.98% of Caterpillar's stock, with several firms, including Vanguard and Thurston Springer, increasing their stakes during the second quarter.
• Recent insider transactions reveal that Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares at an average price of $412.87, representing a 3.44% decrease in his ownership.

Friday Financial bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,575 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the first quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,010 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,322,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the first quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% during the second quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 929 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Barclays raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $460.20.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $466.62 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $425.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $369.54. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $472.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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.

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