Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CAT. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $342.37 on Tuesday. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $163.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $367.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $373.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 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.