New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Has $7.45 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $2,090,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,202,000 after acquiring an additional 30,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.8% during the first quarter. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. 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, June 20th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.00.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE CAT opened at $394.22 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $185.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $355.40 and its 200 day moving average is $347.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The company’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.