MUFG Securities EMEA plc Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 114.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 10,218 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3,949.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,494,568,000 after buying an additional 5,098,964 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 573.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $861,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,087 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 24.3% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,375,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,176,870,000 after purchasing an additional 464,036 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,572,681,000 after purchasing an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $252,204,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,103.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $923.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,273 shares of company stock valued at $89,439,960. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $872.61 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $339.50 and a fifty-two week high of $931.35. The stock has a market cap of $401.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $811.10 and a 200-day moving average of $703.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The company had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.06%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.