Hardin Capital Partners LLC Acquires 55 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Hardin Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $457.20.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $440.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $421.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.65. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar 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.