Ramirez Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 160.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,450 shares during the period. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,297,000 after purchasing an additional 712,711 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after acquiring an additional 268,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $478.20.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $500.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $441.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $382.85. The firm has a market cap of $234.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $509.48.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.