Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 23,192 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 346,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,192 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $198,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This represents a 21.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 98,273 shares of company stock valued at $89,439,960 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $923.14.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $865.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $398.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $814.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $705.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $339.50 and a 1 year high of $931.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.Caterpillar’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.06%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.