Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Rating) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on CAT. UBS Group downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $225.00 in a report on Friday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $240.00 to $264.00 in a research report on Friday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.00.

Caterpillar Stock Down 3.7 %

NYSE CAT opened at $217.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $247.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.90. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $160.60 and a 12 month high of $266.04. The company has a market capitalization of $112.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.11.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by ($0.09). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.61% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $16.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 15.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $249.29 per share, for a total transaction of $99,716.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,616.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, General Counsel Suzette M. Long sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.04, for a total value of $2,008,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,776 shares in the company, valued at $2,203,127.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $249.29 per share, with a total value of $99,716.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,616.61. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 90,984 shares of company stock worth $22,519,893 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 35,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,822,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Caterpillar by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,201,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $197,205,000 after purchasing an additional 174,361 shares during the last quarter. 68.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.