Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 4,124 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,124 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $26,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,863 shares of company stock worth $8,837,714 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded down $5.71 on Monday, reaching $344.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,114,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,711,496. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $336.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $336.27. The company has a market cap of $168.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.61 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

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.