Van ECK Associates Corp Buys New Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 75,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,205,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $334.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $167.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $351.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

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.