Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 459 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $348.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $370.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given 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 was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar 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.