Shell Asset Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 93.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,089 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:CAT opened at $353.60 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $354.09.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.50.

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.