Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $345.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $340.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $343.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.55 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.