Credit Agricole S A Acquires 94,934 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Credit Agricole S A increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 111.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 179,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,934 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $59,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the first quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,907,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Summit X LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the first quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $444.00.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:CAT opened at $412.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $441.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $400.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $356.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.