Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 20.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 924 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CAT shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price target (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $335.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $343.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.