Alberta Investment Management Corp Has $4.46 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Alberta Investment Management Corp reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $609,000. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 22,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,175,000 after purchasing an additional 8,178 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 3,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAT. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

CAT stock opened at $353.26 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $370.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.54. 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 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.98 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

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.