Seascape Capital Management Lowers Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Seascape Capital Management lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises approximately 1.7% of Seascape Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Seascape Capital Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during 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 shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $466.62 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $425.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $369.54. 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 firm has a market cap of $218.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $472.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.