Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $610.3158.

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price target (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. This trade represents a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $244,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $92,000. Connors Investor Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $13,216,000. Opes Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the third quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Investment Advisors boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 6,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,085,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:CAT opened at $576.76 on Friday. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $596.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $530.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $444.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

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.