Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Lowered to $373.00 at Evercore ISI

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective lowered by Evercore ISI from $375.00 to $373.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.33.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $352.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $353.57. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 5,052 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 5,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,859,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,796,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after buying an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.