Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Shares Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) shares shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $397.12 and last traded at $394.01. 356,247 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,635,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $393.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Barclays raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $192.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $361.58 and a 200-day moving average of $349.92.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.