New Century Financial Group LLC Sells 357 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

New Century Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 357 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $356.79 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $168.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.63.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.