Johnson Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after acquiring an additional 111,384 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 14.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after acquiring an additional 781,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $1,660,560,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.35.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $1.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $348.86. 2,633,857 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,475,004. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $356.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $313.62.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.81 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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.