New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 1.5%, now owning 413,521 shares valued at approximately $160.5 million.
• Wall Street analysts show a positive outlook for Caterpillar, significantly increasing their price targets, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. raising it to $650.00 and multiple analysts rating it as a "Buy" or "Strong Buy."
• Caterpillar declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, set to be paid on November 20th, with a current yield of 1.1%.

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 413,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,446 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.09% of Caterpillar worth $160,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 109.1% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.60.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:CAT opened at $534.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $538.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $448.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $387.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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