Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Now Covered by Analysts at Raymond James

Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a buy rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a buy rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $329.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $160.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $339.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $329.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Capital Market Strategies LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,000. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $802,000. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,264,000. Bush Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $240,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.