Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Holdings Decreased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $336.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $359.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $372.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $160.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

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.