Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $381.67.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,157,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $729,000. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 10,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $374.81 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $380.79 and its 200 day moving average is $366.26. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $276.94 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $180.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

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.