Allianz SE Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Allianz SE purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 47,764 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $17,339,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $4.67 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $335.24. The stock had a trading volume of 599,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,532,198. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $160.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The business's 50-day moving average is $352.51 and its 200 day moving average is $372.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.