Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $9.43 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.13.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents 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 Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $362.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $375.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $371.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.