Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,325 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $506,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 13,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 33,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,997,000 after buying an additional 10,270 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 107.0% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 89 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Gibson Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $260,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $572.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $528.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $441.88. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $596.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $267.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,047.06. This trade represents a 47.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 86,229 shares of company stock worth $43,323,118. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 target price (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $610.32.

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.