Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Boosts Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 6.7%, holding 81,218 shares worth $31.53 million.
• A variety of hedge funds including UBS, Charles Schwab, and Goldman Sachs have also bolstered their positions in Caterpillar in recent quarters, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Analyst ratings for Caterpillar are predominantly positive, with upgrades to "buy" and "strong buy," and an average target price of $466.53.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,130 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $31,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 6.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,386,626,000 after buying an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,089,798,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Caterpillar by 5.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,036,211,000 after buying an additional 150,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.4% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,416,464 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $467,150,000 after buying an additional 5,559 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on CAT shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $466.53.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $498.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $436.99 and a 200 day moving average of $378.48. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $504.48. The firm has a market cap of $233.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.99 earnings per share. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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.

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