Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Research Coverage Started at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price target (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $600.94.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1%

CAT stock opened at $552.74 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $596.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $506.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $427.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $258.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $568.86 per share, with a total value of $170,658.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,730.42. This trade represents a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 86,229 shares of company stock worth $43,323,118 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.