MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Purchases 1,641 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 2.9% by acquiring 1,641 additional shares, bringing their total holdings to worth approximately $22.97 million.
• Recent insider sales included Director Susan C. Schwab selling 2,324 shares and insider Jason Kaiser selling 2,161 shares, indicating substantial decreases in their ownership positions.
• Caterpillar's stock is currently rated as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $457.20, with several analysts raising their ratings and price targets in recent reports.

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,641 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $22,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $457.20.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $435.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $204.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $420.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $366.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $441.15. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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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