Van ECK Associates Corp Takes $22.21 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 75,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,205,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $210,000. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.4% in the third quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 3,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its stake in Caterpillar by 7.4% in the third quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 4,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.7% in the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 13,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,716,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Finally, Verus Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 15.1% in the third quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $334.57 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $351.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

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.