Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price Down 1.1%

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) dropped 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $325.79 and last traded at $326.43. Approximately 420,174 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,658,302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $341.98 and a 200 day moving average of $328.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $159.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $1,264,000. Bush Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $231,000. OMC Financial Services LTD bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $240,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 71.7% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hamilton Wealth LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $618,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.