Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 18,837 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 36.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,837 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,165,899,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 546.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,297,000 after purchasing an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 425.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,738,000 after purchasing an additional 616,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36,586.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 433,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,340,000 after purchasing an additional 432,449 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price target (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $612.16.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total transaction of $5,714,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 55,460 shares in the company, valued at $31,692,062.40. This represents a 15.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of CAT opened at $597.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $279.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $627.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $554.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $462.36.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

Caterpillar Company 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.