Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $367.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $177.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $388.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $362.45. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $276.94 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. Analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after acquiring an additional 200,210 shares during the period. 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.