Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 413,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,446 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $160,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $534.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $448.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $387.73. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $538.45. The company has a market capitalization of $250.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.99 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

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.