Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at HSBC

HSBC began coverage on shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $250.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $274.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $287.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $323.00 to $297.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $266.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $250.55 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $127.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $258.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.06. Caterpillar has a one year low of $204.04 and a one year high of $293.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $5.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.75 by $0.77. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.29% and a net margin of 13.69%. The company had revenue of $16.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 20.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total value of $815,517.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,514,778. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 130,632.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,859,000 after acquiring an additional 9,776,533 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,532,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,339,234,000 after acquiring an additional 156,608 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 98,763.3% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 8,679,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,135,519,000 after purchasing an additional 8,670,430 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,725,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,922,000 after purchasing an additional 202,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after buying an additional 111,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.