Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE CAT opened at $340.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $162.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $366.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $372.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value 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 $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.