ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 148 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $32,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE CAT opened at $498.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $436.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $378.48. The company has a market capitalization of $233.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $504.48.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.99 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.53.

About Caterpillar

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.