Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 23.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,250 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Barclays increased their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price objective (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $345.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $343.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.55 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.