New Century Financial Group LLC Acquires 51 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the first quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CAT. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $393.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $192.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $403.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $363.86 and its 200 day moving average is $350.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.