Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives $355.50 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $357.56.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Transcendent Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 122.5% in the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $295,000. Essex Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.1% in the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 6,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the third quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 7,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.4% in the third quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9 %

CAT opened at $379.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $184.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $372.40 and a 200 day moving average of $351.42. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $232.88 and a 12 month high of $403.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.88 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 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.