Optiver Holding B.V. Acquires New Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 14,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,277,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 3,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $306.96 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $146.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $320.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $359.48.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $361.75.

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.