State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $52,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $578.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $270.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $478.42 and a 200 day moving average of $409.18. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $568.50.

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.