Iowa State Bank Sells 2,764 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Iowa State Bank reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 22.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,764 shares during the quarter. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in 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. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $33,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.6% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:CAT opened at $498.48 on Monday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $436.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $379.06. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $504.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business 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%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total transaction of $7,941,849.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 465,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $215,289,088.35. This trade represents a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.53.

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.