Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 108,473 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 203.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 161,841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,473 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $58,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $373.20.

Caterpillar Trading Up 10.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $301.43 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $336.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.44. 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 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Analysts expect 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 Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.