Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,651 shares during the quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Rollins Financial lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 6,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $339.59 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $340.36 and a 200-day moving average of $343.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $164.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

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.