Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,288 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $11.12 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. The company has a market capitalization of $146.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $322.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $361.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $359.36.

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.