Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Now Covered by Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $380.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen upped 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. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a buy rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $326.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $159.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $328.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $1,264,000. Bush Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $231,000. OMC Financial Services LTD bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $240,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 71.7% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamilton Wealth LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $618,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.