Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

CAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $374.69.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $388.44 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $393.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $359.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $187.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $259.12 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 25.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 33.7% in the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,182 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.