Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. has reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 23.6%, selling 8,407 shares and holding 27,159 shares valued at approximately $8.96 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently made new investments in Caterpillar, indicating strong institutional interest, as 70.98% of the stock is now owned by institutional investors.
• Caterpillar has seen analysts set new price targets, with estimates ranging from $388.00 to $500.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook for the company's stock.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 23.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,159 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,407 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 4,328 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 2,816 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $457.20.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.1%

CAT traded up $8.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $431.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,737,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,733,555. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business's 50-day moving average is $419.41 and its 200-day moving average is $364.55. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $441.15. The stock has a market cap of $202.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.