Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Has $12.80 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its shares in Caterpillar Inc. by 4.6%, bringing its total position to approximately $12.8 million.
• Caterpillar reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $4.72 compared to analyst expectations of $4.88, but its revenue of $16.57 billion exceeded estimates.
• Several financial firms have recently raised their price targets for Caterpillar, with Barclays setting a new target of $425.00, reflecting positive sentiment among analysts towards the company's performance.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $391,788,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,429,416,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $108,958,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CAT. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $455.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $415.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $414.65 and a 200-day moving average of $361.08.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The company's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

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.

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