Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Decreases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,516 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $78,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $7.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $351.36. 2,238,245 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,636,508. The firm has a market cap of $165.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $318.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAT. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.33.

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.