Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,318 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 631 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after purchasing an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% during the 4th 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 valued at $1,429,416,000 after buying an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $404.64.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $405.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $360.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $347.92. The company has a market cap of $191.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 29.43%.

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.

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