IFM Investors Pty Ltd Lowers Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

IFM Investors Pty Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $30,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 139.2% in the fourth quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 3,060 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,054,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $417.96 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $441.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $418.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $363.50. The stock has a market cap of $195.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.41. 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) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 29th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 29th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $457.20.

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.