Patton Fund Management Inc. Buys Shares of 718 Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. has acquired 718 shares of Caterpillar Inc., valued at approximately $279,000, further emphasizing recent interest in the company from institutional investors.
• Analysts show mixed forecasts for Caterpillar, with some boosting price targets; Bank of America raised its target from $495 to $517, while Oppenheimer lowered it from $493 to $480.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III selling over 17,000 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million, which reflects a shift in company ownership dynamics.

Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 718 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,037,000 after acquiring an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,913 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $464.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $466.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $430.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $373.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $485.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Company 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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