Baird R W Upgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to “Hold”

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Baird R W from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 price objective (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson cut their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $309.00 in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $323.74 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $318.18 and its 200 day moving average is $357.78. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $154.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 328,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,191,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 358.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 10,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 8,291 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 74.5% during the first quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 3,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 308,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,707,000 after buying an additional 26,147 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.