Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CATFree Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,313,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 38,584 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 0.6% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $930,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,572,681,000 after purchasing an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,273,039,000 after purchasing an additional 385,204 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,072,572,000 after purchasing an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,438,408,000 after buying an additional 54,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after buying an additional 928,974 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $949.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $396.88 and a fifty-two week high of $1,073.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $925.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $778.34. The company has a market capitalization of $437.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.24, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CATGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.06%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total value of $4,982,055.26. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,789.82. This trade represents a 37.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,103.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $970.81.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Caterpillar

Key Caterpillar News

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Caterpillar Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CATFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)

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