StockNews.com Downgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Hold

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

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $367.57 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $389.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $362.14. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $177.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after acquiring an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the 2nd 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after buying an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after buying an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.