Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 115,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,548,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.3 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $392.40 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $397.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $348.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.14. The company has a market capitalization of $191.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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.