Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

CAT has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $351.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $169.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $276.94 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $382.16 and a 200 day moving average of $365.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 1,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 2,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 779.2% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,933,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $887,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.