Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Buys 600 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after buying an additional 473,416 shares during the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 17,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,240,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 34,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,427,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 7.0 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $25.28 on Thursday, reaching $338.24. 6,457,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,486,411. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $204.04 and a one year high of $382.01. The company has a market capitalization of $168.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $349.37 and a 200 day moving average of $300.03.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.82%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.