Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 5,804 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,804 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after acquiring an additional 208,196 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,165,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3,949.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,494,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 20.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,757,000 after purchasing an additional 609,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after purchasing an additional 33,467 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAT. Argus raised their target price on Caterpillar from $625.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $729.00 to $817.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $730.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $703.53 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $697.19 and its 200 day moving average is $589.94. The firm has a market cap of $327.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $789.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

About Caterpillar

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.