JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $490.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $515.00 to $490.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.13.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CAT opened at $371.88 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $380.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $371.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $299.93 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. 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 1.52%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,236 shares of company stock valued at $12,102,371. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,084,000. 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.