New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Raises Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 98,273 shares of company stock worth $89,439,960 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $872.61 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $339.50 and a one year high of $931.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $811.10 and its 200 day moving average is $703.24. The stock has a market cap of $401.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The company had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, May 8th. HSBC increased their price target on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $923.14.

About Caterpillar

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.