Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 161,416 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 30.0%, selling 161,416 shares and retaining approximately 376,718 shares valuing around $124 million.
• Several institutional investors have made significant changes to their holdings, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by over 43,447% to own approximately 3.73 million shares worth about $1.23 billion.
• Caterpillar recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51, up from the previous $1.41, reflecting a 1.4% yield and indicating an annualized dividend of $6.04.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 30.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 376,718 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 161,416 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.08% of Caterpillar worth $124,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4%

Caterpillar stock traded up $1.91 on Wednesday, hitting $433.17. 1,970,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,433,062. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $202.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.40. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $410.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $359.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $450.87.

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.