New York Life Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 67,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,314 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $22,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Rollins Financial grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 6,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $329.32 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $339.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $343.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $161.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.