BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 109,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 9,704 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $36,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after buying an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after buying an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after buying an additional 179,908 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after purchasing an additional 529,420 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 target price (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CAT opened at $356.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $338.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.