Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 132.9% during the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Caterpillar by 9.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,037,000 after buying an additional 7,125 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.2% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $427,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after acquiring an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6%

Caterpillar stock opened at $498.48 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $504.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $233.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $436.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $379.06.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $466.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.