New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $237.51 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 607,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 48,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.12% of Caterpillar worth $237,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 215.4% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.56.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded up $2.65 on Friday, reaching $378.85. The stock had a trading volume of 106,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,617,039. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $371.78 and a 200-day moving average of $351.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $232.88 and a fifty-two week high of $403.60. The company has a market capitalization of $183.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar 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.