Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 538,134 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 243,999 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.11% of Caterpillar worth $195,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,414,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $800,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.1 %

CAT traded up $9.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $323.74. 3,764,228 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,631,022. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $318.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $357.53. The firm has a market cap of $154.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $309.00 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $366.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar 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.