Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Has $83.18 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 229,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $83,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $850,000. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $409,000. Finally, Chiron Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $681,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 10.0 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $301.43 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $144.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $368.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $373.20.

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.