Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $374.69.

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE CAT opened at $380.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $183.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $270.55 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $392.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $360.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

About Caterpillar

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.