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

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $372.92.

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 price target (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $391,788,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after buying an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $353.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $320.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $349.69. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

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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