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

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 243,773 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 22,395 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.05% of Caterpillar worth $95,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after purchasing an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,262,290,000 after buying an additional 8,088 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $380.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,034,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,553,393. The stock has a market cap of $183.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $392.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $360.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $270.55 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CAT. Citigroup raised their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $374.69.

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.