Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is Conning Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Conning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,526 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 1.4% of Conning Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $39,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 9,776,533 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after buying an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after acquiring an additional 781,111 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,440,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $892,724,000 after acquiring an additional 92,360 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $6.35 on Friday, reaching $365.63. 2,072,870 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,230,103. The business’s 50-day moving average is $342.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.94.

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.