Melius Research Upgrades PACCAR (NASDAQ:PCAR) to Strong-Buy

Melius Research upgraded shares of PACCAR (NASDAQ:PCAR) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

PCAR has been the subject of several other research reports. Melius upgraded shares of PACCAR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PACCAR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of PACCAR from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of PACCAR from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of PACCAR from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PACCAR has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.23.

PACCAR Stock Down 0.9 %

PACCAR stock opened at $100.21 on Tuesday. PACCAR has a fifty-two week low of $90.04 and a fifty-two week high of $125.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $106.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.50. The company has a market capitalization of $52.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91.

PACCAR (NASDAQ:PCAR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.04). PACCAR had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 23.53%. Research analysts expect that PACCAR will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current year.

PACCAR Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is a boost from PACCAR’s previous dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. PACCAR’s payout ratio is 16.69%.

Insider Transactions at PACCAR

In related news, CFO Harrie Schippers sold 28,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.97, for a total value of $3,038,795.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,150,414.23. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darrin C. Siver sold 103,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.56, for a total transaction of $11,565,536.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,805,717.80. This trade represents a 62.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,547 shares of company stock valued at $18,261,908. Insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PACCAR

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in PACCAR by 221.8% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PACCAR in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PACCAR by 8,750.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PACCAR in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of PACCAR in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 64.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PACCAR

PACCAR Inc designs, manufactures, and distributes light, medium, and heavy-duty commercial trucks in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, South America, Australia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Truck, Parts, and Financial Services. The Truck segment designs, manufactures, and distributes trucks for the over-the-road and off-highway hauling of commercial and consumer goods.