Balefire LLC Acquires 225 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Balefire LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Balefire LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. GEM Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. GEM Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Emprise Bank grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Emprise Bank now owns 4,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,815,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $219,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $450.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $210.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $422.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $367.22. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $452.34. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share 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 net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.