Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Position Boosted by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 313,622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 29,681 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $179,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Plancorp LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,591,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. KDT Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Wall Street Zen raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price target on Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. CICC Research began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, February 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,103.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $923.14.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $872.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $401.92 billion, a PE ratio of 43.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $811.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $702.31. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $339.50 and a fifty-two week high of $931.35.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was 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 owned 46,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,210,388.80. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 98,273 shares of company stock valued at $89,439,960 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.