Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $323.35.

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $336.86 on Friday. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $205.60 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $351.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $303.11. The firm has a market cap of $164.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.