Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $845.00 to $882.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $994.38.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $819.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $376.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $827.32 and its 200 day moving average is $846.48. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $467.46 and a 1-year high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The business had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 27.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total transaction of $26,211,760.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,954,303.90. This trade represents a 48.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 440.0% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 93.8% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 31 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Its products are used in infrastructure development, construction, mining, energy production, transportation, agriculture, forestry, and other industrial applications.

The company markets equipment and related services through a worldwide network of independent dealers. Its operations are generally organized around Construction Industries, Resource Industries, and Energy & Transportation.