Axa S.A. Has $56.98 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

AXA S.A. trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 157,081 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,330 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $56,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 26.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 443,315 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,644,000 after acquiring an additional 55,448 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $370.67.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded down $1.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $321.35. 1,722,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,628,522. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $317.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $356.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.