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

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $375.63.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $360.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $276.94 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. 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 50 day moving average price of $390.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $361.18.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 8,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 161,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,671,000 after buying an additional 8,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,548,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.