State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Sells 7,890 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 178,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,890 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $64,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $359.36.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $11.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $306.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,873,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,834. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $323.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $361.84.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

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.