LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 34.7% in Q2, owning 7,071 shares worth approximately $2.75 million after purchasing 1,822 additional shares.
• Caterpillar's latest quarterly earnings report showed $4.72 earnings per share, missing estimates of $4.88, with a revenue of $16.57 billion.
• Analysts are optimistic about Caterpillar, with Bank of America raising its price target from $495 to $517 and most analysts rating the stock a "buy."

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 34.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,822 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 5.9% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,460 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.1% in the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 1,284 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 5.7% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $498.48 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $436.99 and its 200-day moving average is $378.48. The stock has a market cap of $233.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $504.48.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released 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). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $466.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's 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 owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total value of $7,941,849.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 465,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $215,289,088.35. This trade represents a 3.56% decrease in their position. 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 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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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