Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 20.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 29,523 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $66,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Caterpillar by 7.1% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 64,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,262,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 15,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 3,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total value of $5,714,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,692,062.40. The trade was a 15.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.32.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE CAT opened at $594.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $547.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.77. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $607.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

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.