BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,584 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $36,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,656,286,000 after buying an additional 208,196 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after purchasing an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after purchasing an additional 33,467 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 target price (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $612.16.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $597.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $554.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $460.80. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $627.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.