The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 427,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,363 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.09% of Caterpillar worth $155,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,193,154,000 after buying an additional 61,723 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $306.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $320.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $359.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $361.75.

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.