Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 45,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 14,316 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $16,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $335.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $160.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $358.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.83.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.