Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 9,516 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 215,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,516 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $78,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after purchasing an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $345.03 on Friday. 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 market cap of $162.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $318.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 price objective (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company 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.