New Republic Capital LLC Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

New Republic Capital LLC lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the quarter. New Republic Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $573,000 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 CAT. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the third quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in Caterpillar by 24.3% during the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 72,835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,487,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $363.11 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $376.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $371.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

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.