Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 788 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 788 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $11,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after acquiring an additional 264,054 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,211,000 after buying an additional 150,533 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $463.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $217.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $485.34. 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 50 day moving average price of $429.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $372.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CAT. DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $464.33.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar 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 value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.