Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CAT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.33.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $359.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $384.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $363.74. The stock has a market cap of $173.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $276.94 and a 52-week 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.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after buying an additional 266,969 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after acquiring an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.