Natixis Advisors LLC Has $198.74 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its Caterpillar stake by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 346,912 shares valued at about $198.7 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, with CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield and insider Anthony D. Fassino both selling shares in May; insiders sold a total of 98,273 shares worth roughly $89.4 million over the last 90 days.
• Caterpillar reported a strong quarter, beating expectations with $5.54 EPS on $17.42 billion in revenue, while analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $923.14.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 346,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,192 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Caterpillar worth $198,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,572,681,000 after purchasing an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,072,572,000 after purchasing an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,494,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,802,068 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,337,007,000 after purchasing an additional 58,993 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total value of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 98,273 shares of company stock valued at $89,439,960 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,103.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. Oppenheimer set a $980.00 price target on Caterpillar and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $860.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $923.14.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $865.95 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $814.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $705.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $398.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.10, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.59. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $339.50 and a one year high of $931.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.Caterpillar's revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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