Groupe la Francaise Grows Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 82.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,278 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during 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 stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $2,165,899,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,297,000 after purchasing an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,586.2% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 433,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,340,000 after buying an additional 432,449 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.6%

CAT stock opened at $582.68 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.57. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $534.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $447.95.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total transaction of $5,714,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,692,062.40. The trade was a 15.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock worth $41,949,366 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Three investment 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, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.32.

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.