Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Shares Gap Down to $363.52

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $363.52, but opened at $330.44. Caterpillar shares last traded at $337.79, with a volume of 2,249,267 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.83.

Caterpillar Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $350.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $171.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vigilare Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $238,000. Finer Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the first quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,726,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the first quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 4,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. BayBridge Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $506,000. Finally, McGuire Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the first quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC now owns 22,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,236,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.