Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 99.4% in the 3rd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% during the third quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in Caterpillar by 872.0% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 26,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,477,000 after purchasing an additional 24,032 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $362.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $375.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $175.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

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.