Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 8,493 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 37.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,042 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,493 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.3% during the first quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,963 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% during the first quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 13,785 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,547,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 23.8% during the first quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 1,014 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 45.8% during the first quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, First American Bank raised its stake in Caterpillar by 4.6% in the first quarter. First American Bank now owns 2,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $376.67.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $6.13 during trading on Monday, reaching $366.65. 2,925,494 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,534,622. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $333.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $172.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

About Caterpillar

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.