Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 39,253.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 16,094 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $11,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after purchasing an additional 442,164 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,273,039,000 after purchasing an additional 385,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,072,572,000 after buying an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,438,408,000 after buying an additional 54,069 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after buying an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total transaction of $326,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,180. The trade was a 40.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total value of $14,928,254.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $914.19 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $403.32 and a twelve month high of $1,073.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $931.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $790.77. The firm has a market cap of $421.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.50, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The firm’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $980.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $1,020.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Argus upped their price target on Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $1,165.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $980.57.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.