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 report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5 %

CAT stock opened at $353.97 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $374.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.81. The company has a market capitalization of $170.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.