Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,945 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.9% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $29,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 130,632.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,859,000 after acquiring an additional 9,776,533 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $1,175,255,000. Gateway Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $4,004,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $433,134,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,665,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,296,582,000 after buying an additional 1,024,083 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $266.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $274.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $240.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $287.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 6,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $1,667,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,254,120. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $5,500,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 53,671 shares in the company, valued at $14,759,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 6,415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $1,667,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,254,120. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,918 shares of company stock worth $15,299,870. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:CAT traded down $3.41 on Friday, reaching $279.15. The stock had a trading volume of 4,940,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,088,398. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $272.99 and a 200 day moving average of $242.34. The stock has a market cap of $142.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.60 and a 12-month high of $293.88.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $5.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.57 by $0.98. The business had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.46 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 55.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.18 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.