Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Cut to $321.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI from $338.00 to $321.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “in-line” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target suggests a potential downside of 6.52% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on CAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. HSBC increased their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $343.40 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $335.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $341.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $167.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 179,908 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,660,560,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.