Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $331.11 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $337.19 and a 200-day moving average of $331.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $161.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.73 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after acquiring an additional 529,420 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.