Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Cut to $420.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective reduced by Citigroup from $460.00 to $420.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $381.67.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $370.79 on Tuesday. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $276.94 and a twelve month high of $418.50. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $366.20. The company has a market capitalization of $179.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. 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.