Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Trading Up 2.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s stock price was up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $285.00 to $295.00. UBS Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Caterpillar traded as high as $386.07 and last traded at $385.12. Approximately 443,980 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 2,609,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $376.52.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $358.19.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,128 shares of company stock valued at $2,506,748 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Apollon Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $630,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 590.0% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 6,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after acquiring an additional 5,251 shares during the period. First National Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 48,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,151,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,561,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $372.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $351.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $186.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.