Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $446,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000. Caterpillar accounts for 1.6% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after buying an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 14.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 5.4% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $382,168,000 after purchasing an additional 71,344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.6 %

CAT stock traded up $5.78 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $363.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,809,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,428,498. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $181.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $204.04 and a one year high of $382.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $348.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar 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.