Vista Investment Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Vista Investment Partners LLC significantly reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by selling 10,833 shares, bringing its total holdings down to 1,238 shares valued at approximately $481,000.
• Caterpillar's stock performance revealed a one-year price range with a low of <$strong>267.30 and a high of <$strong>452.34, currently trading around <$strong>450.28.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded Caterpillar's stock ratings, with target prices elevated to as high as $507.00, indicating strong investor confidence in the company's future prospects.

Vista Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,833 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth $391,788,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $108,958,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,064,951,000 after purchasing an additional 268,300 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $4.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $470.86. 1,285,754 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,750,058. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $425.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $369.54. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $472.12. The firm has a market cap of $220.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share 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%.Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $462.87.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar 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 transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.