Board of the Pension Protection Fund Makes New $580,000 Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $381.67.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $370.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $381.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $366.20. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.94 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Caterpillar 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.