Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $365.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 3,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 19.7% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 24,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,951,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the last quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 127.5% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,254,000 after acquiring an additional 4,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $382.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $382.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $354.71. The company has a market cap of $184.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $241.81 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

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.