Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 446,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,131 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Caterpillar worth $162,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $353.97 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $170.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a PEG 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $374.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % 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, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

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.