Caterpillar’s (CAT) Market Perform Rating Reiterated at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a buy rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an equal weight rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $357.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $178.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $345.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,580,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,634,000 after buying an additional 9,695 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $405,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.8% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,075,000 after buying an additional 2,076 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.