Caterpillar’s (CAT) “Market Perform” Rating Reaffirmed at Oppenheimer

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Oppenheimer in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

CAT has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $354.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $346.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.78. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 272.4% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 730.8% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.