Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $21,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after acquiring an additional 268,300 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after acquiring an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of CAT opened at $480.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $434.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $376.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $485.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total transaction of $7,941,849.90. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 465,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,289,088.35. The trade was a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar 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.