Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 318,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,271 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $105,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $366.65 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.