Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,431,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 87,214 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up approximately 7.8% of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,985,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,237,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,893,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,053,000 after buying an additional 4,010 shares in the last quarter. Juno Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $877,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 31,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,860,000 after buying an additional 3,268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Oppenheimer set a $980.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Williams Trading set a $825.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $933.27.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:CAT opened at $915.27 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $836.25 and its 200 day moving average is $718.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $353.92 and a 12 month high of $946.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.57 billion, a PE ratio of 45.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.