Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,288 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,193,154,000 after buying an additional 61,723 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $361.75.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CAT stock traded down $0.53 on Friday, reaching $306.33. 2,162,365 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,621,837. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $321.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $360.15. The company has a market capitalization 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.