State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $64.76 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,890 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $64,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $359.36.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $306.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,162,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,648. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $360.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $146.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.