Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Purchases 33,505 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 33.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,505 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $43,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $353.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $173.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $341.63 and its 200 day moving average is $344.27.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

About Caterpillar

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.