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

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $372.92.

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $4.52 on Friday, reaching $363.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,551,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,590,152. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $322.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $349.19. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $171.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.