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

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,354 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $23,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,139,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,406,471,000 after acquiring an additional 173,108 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Caterpillar by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,022,488,000 after purchasing an additional 165,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,225,000 after purchasing an additional 119,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $368.85 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $343.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $344.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar 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.