California Public Employees Retirement System Grows Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Caterpillar by 7.1% in Q3 to 900,511 shares (about $429.7M), representing roughly 0.19% ownership.
• Caterpillar beat earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $5.16 EPS vs. $4.67 expected and $19.13B revenue vs. $17.81B, with revenue up 17.9% year‑over‑year.
• Insiders sold 135,950 shares (~$94.3M) over the past three months, while analysts’ consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $730.50 (16 Buys, 7 Holds, 1 Sell).

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 900,511 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,080 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.19% of Caterpillar worth $429,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 107.0% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 89 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $693.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $693.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $585.00. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $789.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.14 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 79,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,574,954.83. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,524,818. This represents a 47.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAT. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $678.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $760.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $730.50.

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.

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