Howe & Rusling Inc. Sells 614 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Howe & Rusling Inc. lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 614 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 9.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after acquiring an additional 7,125 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after acquiring an additional 15,347 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $427,000. Finally, Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $579,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $457.20.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $431.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $419.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $364.55. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $441.15. The company has a market cap of $202.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.