Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 187 shares during the quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 88,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,262,000 after acquiring an additional 37,282 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 25.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 12.5% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total value of $7,941,849.90. Following the sale, the chairman owned 465,339 shares in the company, valued at $215,289,088.35. The trade was a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 29th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $464.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $466.06 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $485.34. The company has a market cap of $218.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.41. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $430.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $373.71.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

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.