Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 43.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 9,676 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $22,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 82.1% during the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $1,165.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $790.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $980.57.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CAT opened at $889.23 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $405.46 and a one year high of $1,073.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $928.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $804.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $409.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.45%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total value of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.