Capital Research Global Investors Buys 1,196,861 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 69.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned 0.61% of Caterpillar worth $1,060,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $800,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $293.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $327.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $363.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. 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 $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its 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, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $361.64.

Caterpillar 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.