Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co has reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 44.9%, now holding 2,894 shares valued at approximately $954,000.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51, an increase from the previous $1.41, resulting in a current annualized dividend of $6.04 with a dividend yield of 1.4%.
• Caterpillar's shares have had several price target adjustments from analysts, with Citigroup increasing their target to $500.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among investment analysts.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 44.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,894 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,362 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $391,788,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,429,416,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $108,958,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $457.20.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1%

CAT traded down $0.28 on Friday, reaching $431.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,341,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,360,946. The stock has a market cap of $201.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $441.15. 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 $420.04 and its 200 day moving average is $365.49.

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

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.