Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $380.13.

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $371.88 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $380.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $371.07. Caterpillar has a one year low of $299.93 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,236 shares of company stock valued at $12,102,371. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.