Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $330.00 to $300.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 20.21% from the stock’s previous close.

CAT has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $382.47.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $375.98 on Friday. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $299.93 and a twelve month 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $381.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $370.78. The company has a market cap of $181.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,111,601. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.