Utah Retirement Systems Has $29.43 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Utah Retirement Systems grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 81,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $29,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 104.6% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 2,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 51,018 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 427,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $155,196,000 after purchasing an additional 4,363 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $361.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.0 %

CAT stock opened at $307.16 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $146.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $319.66 and its 200-day moving average is $359.12. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders 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 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.