Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 161,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,640 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $62,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,297,000 after purchasing an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $522.13 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $544.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $464.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $398.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.19.

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.