Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,471 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $15,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $2,165,899,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1,851.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,830,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,631 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Caterpillar by 425.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,738,000 after acquiring an additional 616,739 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Caterpillar by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,757,000 after purchasing an additional 609,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36.9% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,777,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $848,177,000 after purchasing an additional 478,972 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $729.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $729.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $690.90.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. The trade was a 18.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total value of $26,656,109.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 43,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,524,818. This trade represents a 47.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 130,545 shares of company stock worth $88,294,733 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.2%

CAT stock opened at $742.51 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $743.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $347.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.45, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $620.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $532.69.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 32.09%.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.