Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Cuts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 72,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,124 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $26,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $5.71 on Monday, hitting $344.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,114,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,711,496. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company has a market capitalization of $168.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $336.58 and a 200-day moving average of $336.27.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.61 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Company 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.