River Global Investors LLP Acquires New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

River Global Investors LLP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 16,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,732,000. Caterpillar accounts for about 0.9% of River Global Investors LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, ACT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC now owns 877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $336.75. 1,977,087 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,750,444. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.11. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.48%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.