Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 1,620 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 6.0%, selling 1,620 shares and holding a total of 25,454 shares valued at approximately $9.88 million.
• Insider sales included Director Susan C. Schwab, who sold 2,324 shares at an average price of $410.00, marking a 25.15% decrease in her ownership position.
• Analysts remain bullish on Caterpillar, with several firms upgrading their ratings and raising price targets, resulting in an average target price of $466.53 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,620 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $466.53.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:CAT opened at $498.48 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $504.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $436.99 and a 200 day moving average of $379.06. The firm 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.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS 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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