Ransom Advisory Ltd Invests $427,000 in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $457.20.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $417.96 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $418.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $195.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Caterpillar 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.