Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 80.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,560 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up approximately 2.0% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Caterpillar by 120.4% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 31.1% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 13,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $342.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $163.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $357.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.