Capital Wealth Planning LLC Cuts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Capital Wealth Planning LLC decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,619,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,664 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 5.4% of Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $772,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after buying an additional 208,196 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,165,899,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 20.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,695,757,000 after acquiring an additional 609,023 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after acquiring an additional 33,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Caterpillar by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,282,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,274,385,000 after purchasing an additional 140,784 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $693.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $322.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $693.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $583.93. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $789.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.14 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Rodney Michael Shurman sold 2,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $759.61, for a total transaction of $1,730,391.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,443 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,117.23. The trade was a 61.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 7,891 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.90, for a total transaction of $6,130,517.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,643 shares in the company, valued at $36,236,946.70. This trade represents a 14.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $729.00 to $817.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $730.50.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.