Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $19,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after buying an additional 442,164 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,273,039,000 after acquiring an additional 385,204 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,072,572,000 after acquiring an additional 94,524 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,860,457,000 after purchasing an additional 928,974 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,103.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $1,165.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $980.57.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $914.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.50, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $931.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $790.77. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $403.32 and a 12 month high of $1,073.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.