Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $399.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a market perform rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.8 %

CAT opened at $347.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $341.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $344.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $330,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 48.0% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. Brightwater Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $279,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,376,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,548,000. 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.