State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $52,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $214,000. Carson Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $207,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 38.5% in the second quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 1,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% in the second quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 3,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,374,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8%

CAT opened at $578.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $270.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $596.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $478.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $409.18.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price objective (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $568.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.