Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Trading 2.3% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) traded up 2.3% during trading on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $285.00 to $295.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Caterpillar traded as high as $386.07 and last traded at $385.12. 443,980 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 2,609,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $376.52.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on CAT. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $358.19.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,792 shares of company stock worth $3,515,978. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 306.9% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after purchasing an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $97,042,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,060,000 after buying an additional 244,253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $202.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $374.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $352.11.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio 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.