Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $283.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $300.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $361.64.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0 %

CAT stock opened at $290.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $329.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $365.33. The company has a market cap of $138.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 7.1% during the first quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 23,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,874,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in Caterpillar by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Dover Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 32.4% during the first quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 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.