Bank of America Trims Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Target Price to $376.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective lowered by Bank of America from $385.00 to $376.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC increased their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and issued a $399.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a buy rating to a hold rating and increased their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $337.38.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $2.10 on Wednesday, reaching $338.26. 1,668,078 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,750,098. The company has a market capitalization of $165.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $333.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $338.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,837,714 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after buying an additional 179,908 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after buying an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. 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.