Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 73,658 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,255,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 73,658 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $487,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 361,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $140,193,000 after buying an additional 21,608 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 244,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,871,000 after buying an additional 111,727 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 5.7% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,876 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 13.9% during the second quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,823 shares of company stock valued at $34,477,790. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.94.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $562.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $263.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $491.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $417.84. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

Caterpillar Company 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.