Allianz SE Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 47,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,339,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $800,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.8 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $329.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $354.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.98. The company has a market capitalization of $157.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CAT. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.