Morgan Stanley Cuts Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $300.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $330.00 to $300.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.13.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $371.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $380.88 and a 200 day moving average of $371.07. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $299.93 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % 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 valued at $12,102,371 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.