Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 3,644 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its Caterpillar stake by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,644 shares and ending with 108,855 shares valued at about $62.36 million.
• Insider selling picked up, with Anthony D. Fassino and Bob De Lange selling shares worth a combined $37 million-plus; insiders sold 98,273 Caterpillar shares worth about $89.4 million in the last quarter.
• Caterpillar reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $5.54 EPS on $17.42 billion in revenue, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a $923.14 price target.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,855 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,644 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $62,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,494,568,000 after buying an additional 5,098,964 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 573.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $861,947,000 after buying an additional 1,281,087 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Caterpillar by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,375,710 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,176,870,000 after buying an additional 464,036 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,572,681,000 after buying an additional 442,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $252,204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 98,273 shares of company stock worth $89,439,960 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $872.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $401.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $811.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $702.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $339.50 and a fifty-two week high of $931.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.25 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Argus upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $860.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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