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

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $383.80.

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

CAT stock opened at $340.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $366.43 and its 200 day moving average is $372.66. The stock has a market cap of $162.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is 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.