Hardin Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 1,483 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hardin Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $339.59 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $340.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.69. The company has a market cap of $164.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.