Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 5,181 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,911 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,181 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $14,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,987,206,000 after acquiring an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after buying an additional 64,452 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,193,154,000 after buying an additional 61,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,531,208 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $555,461,000 after buying an additional 47,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $9.96 on Friday, reaching $350.97. The stock had a trading volume of 3,061,142 shares, 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $363.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $383.80.

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.