Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $446,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000. Caterpillar makes up about 1.6% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,417,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,813 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,265.3% in the third quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,117,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,570 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $101,872,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 507,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $150,000,000 after purchasing an additional 368,421 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of CAT traded up $5.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $363.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,809,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,428,498. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The firm has a market cap of $181.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $348.44 and its 200 day moving average is $299.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.56.

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.