Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $361.75.

Several research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

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

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $306.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $146.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $321.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $360.65. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $267.30 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

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.