New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 100 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 607,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of Caterpillar worth $220,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $355.42 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $171.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $371.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

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 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%. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 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.