Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Caterpillar Inc. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a target price of $478.20.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $4.72 per share, missing estimates, while revenue was slightly down 0.7% year-over-year.
• A quarterly dividend of $1.51 has been announced, representing a 1.2% yield, payable on November 20th to shareholders on record by October 20th.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $478.20.

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CAT opened at $491.67 on Friday. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $511.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $443.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $383.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total value of $7,941,849.90. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 465,339 shares in the company, valued at $215,289,088.35. The trade was a 3.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 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.

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