ING Groep NV Buys 8,632 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 8,632 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $38,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $353.26 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $370.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.54. The company has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.98 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

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.