Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 70,915 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 38.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 256,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,915 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $93,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of 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 lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $338.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $161.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $359.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.23. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week 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, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.