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

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $301.94.

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,580,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,634,000 after buying an additional 9,695 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,075,000 after buying an additional 2,076 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE CAT opened at $363.91 on Tuesday. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $343.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.74. The stock has a market cap of $181.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

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.