310,130 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Bought by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 310,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,919,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Caterpillar by 7.3% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at $8,893,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,053,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the last quarter. Juno Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $877,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 11.7% during the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 31,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,860,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of CAT opened at $872.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.63. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $339.50 and a 12-month high of $931.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $811.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $702.31.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 98,273 shares of company stock worth $89,439,960 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAT. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $923.14.

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.