Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after acquiring an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 1st 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 period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,064,951,000 after acquiring an additional 268,300 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,211,000 after acquiring an additional 150,533 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,416,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $467,150,000 after acquiring an additional 5,559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $490.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $229.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $495.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $435.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $377.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.Caterpillar’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, August 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, DA Davidson raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $466.53.

Caterpillar 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.