Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% during the 2nd 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $702,431,000 after acquiring an additional 198,123 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,225,000 after purchasing an additional 119,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $385.93 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $368.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.95. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $403.60. The company has a market cap of $188.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

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.