Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $363.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $384.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $364.02. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $276.94 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Caterpillar

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.