Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Trading Up 0.7%

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s share price rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $329.15 and last traded at $328.88. Approximately 417,466 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,657,287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $340.31 and its 200 day moving average is $328.57. The company has a market cap of $162.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 47,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,024,000 after buying an additional 5,317 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 7,919 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $4,357,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,168,000 after acquiring an additional 71,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 18,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,981,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.