Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is Paradiem LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Paradiem LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,061 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,666 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for 2.4% of Paradiem LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Paradiem LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,417,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,168,000 after purchasing an additional 71,344 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.83.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $5.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $343.38. The company had a trading volume of 3,324,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,414,735. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.99. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

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.