Nomura Holdings Inc. Raises Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 247.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,857 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Caterpillar by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,938,000 after acquiring an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 price target (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.50.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $3.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $353.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,558,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,240. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $166.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $317.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $354.09.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.