Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Has $1.86 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after buying an additional 129,216 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $947,875,000 after purchasing an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $8.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $347.61. The stock had a trading volume of 3,462,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,729,206. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $337.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $333.73. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The stock has a market cap of $170.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.