Columbia Asset Management Sells 313 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Columbia Asset Management reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 313 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.2% of Columbia Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after buying an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $427,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.53.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $477.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $223.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $433.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $375.62. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $485.34.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. 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 the business’s 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.