Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,779 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $33,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2%

CAT stock opened at $358.70 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $168.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $349.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.