Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $363.79 on Wednesday. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $276.94 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $175.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $384.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $364.02.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% during the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.