Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Has $4.28 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 24.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,023 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 2.5% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $660.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price target (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.94.

Caterpillar Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $569.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $266.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $486.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $414.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

About Caterpillar

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.