State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 178,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,768 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $64,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $353.31 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $372.47 and its 200 day moving average is $372.14. The company has a market capitalization of $170.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

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.