Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Ameriflex Group Inc.

Ameriflex Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 63.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,826 shares during the quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Corundum Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 3,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,479,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,606,000. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CAT. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. 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 note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Finally, Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $466.53.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $498.48 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $436.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $378.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $504.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were 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 $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. 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.