Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $32,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,165,899,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Caterpillar by 1,851.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,830,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,631 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 425.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $295,738,000 after purchasing an additional 616,739 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36.9% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,777,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $848,177,000 after buying an additional 478,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $636.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $297.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.68, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $596.16 and a 200-day moving average of $513.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $655.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,874,576.40. The trade was a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total value of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 45,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This trade represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,729 shares of company stock valued at $31,084,308. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Caterpillar from $645.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $637.70.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.