Highland Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 11.3%, owning 16,208 shares valued at approximately $6.29 million after selling 2,060 shares in the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including UBS and Goldman Sachs, increased their positions in Caterpillar, indicating strong interest from the market.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Caterpillar, with a target price average of $466.53, and recent upgrades from firms like Barclays and JPMorgan Chase suggest optimism about the stock's performance.

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,208 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,060 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after purchasing an additional 264,054 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,064,951,000 after purchasing an additional 268,300 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,036,211,000 after purchasing an additional 150,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,416,464 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $467,150,000 after purchasing an additional 5,559 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $466.53.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $498.48 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $504.48. The stock has a market cap 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $436.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $378.76.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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