Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 5,808 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 155,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,808 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $74,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total value of $5,750,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,729 shares of company stock valued at $31,084,308 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $648.27 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $592.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $508.92. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $655.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAT. HSBC raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price objective (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $633.35.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.