Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Lowered by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 37.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,493 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:CAT opened at $360.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $333.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.78. The stock has a market cap of $169.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.