StockNews.com Downgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Hold

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

CAT has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $360.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $276.94 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $383.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.03. The company has a market capitalization of $174.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.