Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s stock price traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $390.50 and last traded at $395.30. 284,047 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,647,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $396.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $347.56.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $196.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $357.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $349.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% 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 CAT. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 227,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,772 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 872.0% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 26,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,477,000 after purchasing an additional 24,032 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.