Geode Capital Management LLC Has $2.14 Billion Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,375,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 244,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.82% of Caterpillar worth $2,141,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,580,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,634,000 after acquiring an additional 9,695 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth $405,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.8% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total value of $815,517.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,514,778. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 18,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.33, for a total value of $5,238,121.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,362 shares in the company, valued at $4,684,931.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total value of $815,517.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,514,778. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,918 shares of company stock valued at $15,299,870 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $1.59 on Tuesday, reaching $283.64. The stock had a trading volume of 346,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,077,991. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $144.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.60 and a 1-year high of $293.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $270.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.20.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $5.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.57 by $0.98. The business had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.46 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.93% and a net margin of 12.91%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.18 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.82 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $240.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $274.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $279.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $267.00.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.