Amundi Boosts Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Amundi boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 318,891 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.45% of Caterpillar worth $782,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,168.5% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other 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 transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded up $9.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $350.97. 3,061,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,503,377. The stock has a market cap of $167.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The firm's 50 day moving average is $363.11 and its 200 day moving average is $372.98.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

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.