Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Decreased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 593,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,991 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of Caterpillar worth $195,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $404.64.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $3.13 on Monday, hitting $402.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 523,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,684,796. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $360.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $347.92. The company has a market capitalization of $189.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.