Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Buys 8,048 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 8,048 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $19,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the first quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the first quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit X LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the first quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $457.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $431.10 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $441.15. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $420.04 and its 200 day moving average is $365.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.