Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Emprise Bank

Emprise Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises approximately 0.9% of Emprise Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Emprise Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Allen Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Warwick Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAT. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $457.20.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $435.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $441.15. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is 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.