Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,463 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $19,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 106.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 317,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,309,000 after buying an additional 163,725 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $379.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $359.04 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $379.09 and a 200-day moving average of $371.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.