Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $3.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $342.37. 3,322,881 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,444,873. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $163.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $373.07. 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 for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.