Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Lowered to $490.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $515.00 to $490.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on CAT. Bank of America reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on 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 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.13.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $371.88 on Friday. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $299.93 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $179.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $381.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $370.82.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.71 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,111,601. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 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.