Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 427 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 2.0% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after buying an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after buying an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,531,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $555,461,000 after buying an additional 47,689 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $343.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $164.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $365.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $372.95.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by corporate 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.