Main Street Research LLC Acquires 1,155 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Main Street Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 60.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,165,899,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Caterpillar by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 82.0% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,820,000 after purchasing an additional 12,278 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 155.9% in the 3rd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,014,000 after purchasing an additional 28,773 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,893,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:CAT opened at $693.89 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $789.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $693.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $583.93.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.14 EPS. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,524,818. This represents a 47.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. This represents a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $640.00 to $790.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. CICC Research started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, February 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. HSBC lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $730.50.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.