Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,797 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,797 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.7% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.7% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $4,369,000. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.3% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 95,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,409,000 after acquiring an additional 7,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $336.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $359.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.