Candriam S.C.A. Has $14.48 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,181 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $14,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade 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 Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $340.89 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $363.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $372.52. 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 market cap of $162.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 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.