Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,348 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $16,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Argent Trust Co grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% in the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 9,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 12.5% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 27,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,039,000 after acquiring an additional 3,015 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 133,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,194,000 after acquiring an additional 33,505 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 301.4% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial & Tax Architects LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% in the second quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 18,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,020,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $353.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $173.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $341.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $344.27. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its 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 period last year, the business posted $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company 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.