Berger Financial Group Inc Sells 256 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Berger Financial Group Inc reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 256 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.9% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $716,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6%

CAT stock opened at $498.48 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $504.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $436.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $379.06. The company has a market capitalization of $233.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 company 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%.Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.53.

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.