Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 16,700 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,700 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $46,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in 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 valued at $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Melius raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.19.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $527.12 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $544.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $466.75 and its 200 day moving average is $401.50. The stock has a market cap of $246.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.