Bank of America Cuts Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $414.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price reduced by Bank of America from $452.00 to $414.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.13.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $371.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $380.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $371.07. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $299.93 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,236 shares of company stock worth $12,102,371 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 83.5% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,063 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Caterpillar by 122.9% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,634,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 15,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,954,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. 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.