Machina Capital S.A.S. Acquires Shares of 2,010 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $594,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, ACT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC now owns 877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $5.40 on Monday, reaching $342.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,653,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,509,182. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $352.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.27. The firm has a market cap of $167.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

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.