Taurus Asset Management LLC Has $1.05 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Taurus Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,139,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,406,471,000 after acquiring an additional 173,108 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $1,660,560,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,225,000 after purchasing an additional 119,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

CAT stock opened at $345.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $340.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $343.95. The company has a market cap of $167.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.