Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,730.42. This represents a 3.92% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,662 shares of company stock worth $33,575,140. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $567.82 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $497.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $423.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $596.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

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.