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

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $327.13.

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

CAT stock opened at $327.84 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $343.31 and a 200-day moving average of $326.60. The company has a market cap of $160.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 14,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 176.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,468,000 after acquiring an additional 17,478 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 269,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,518,000 after acquiring an additional 20,035 shares in the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 1,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is 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.