Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 17,163 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,163 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 1.0% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd owned 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $95,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 11.4% in the first quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Lincoln Capital Corp now owns 630 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 111,853 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,889,000 after buying an additional 5,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 41.8% during the first quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 339 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $380.83.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $0.90 on Friday, hitting $399.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,737,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,523,847. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $188.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day moving average is $351.96 and its 200-day moving average is $346.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.