Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL Acquires New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4 %

CAT opened at $394.09 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $349.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $397.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 price target (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.94.

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.