Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Bought by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 6.5% in Q2, bringing its total holdings to 22,877 shares valued at approximately $8.88 million.
• Caterpillar reported earnings per share of $4.72 for the recent quarter, missing estimates by $0.16, with revenue slightly exceeding expectations at $16.57 billion.
• Institutional investors own nearly 71% of Caterpillar's stock, indicating significant confidence in the company's market position, supported by multiple positive analyst ratings and price target upgrades.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $460.20.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $465.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,188,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,742,236. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $423.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $368.16. 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 company has a market capitalization of $218.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $472.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). 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 quarter last year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share 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.