Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 224,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,714 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $87,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after purchasing an additional 64,452 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,022,488,000 after acquiring an additional 165,358 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $395.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.81 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $392.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $359.18.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $372.19.

Caterpillar 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.