State of Michigan Retirement System Has $50.45 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $50,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $331.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $365.31 and its 200 day moving average is $373.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.