Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17, Zacks reports. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%.

Caterpillar Stock Down 4.4 %

CAT traded down $17.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $376.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,318,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,150,065. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $381.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $370.78. The company has a market capitalization of $181.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $299.93 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.