USA Financial Formulas Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

USA Financial Formulas trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Bank of America lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Melius raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $466.53.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $490.88 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $229.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $435.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $377.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $495.98.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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 during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.