Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $383.80.

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value 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 $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $330.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $157.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $353.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $372.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

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.