California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 854,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 73,414 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.18% of Caterpillar worth $309,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 6.6 %

CAT traded down $22.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $312.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,898,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,536,902. The stock has a market cap of $149.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business's 50-day moving average is $351.26 and its 200-day moving average is $372.07.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.