Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Caterpillar Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average target price of $419.33 per share.
• Recently, research firms have upgraded their ratings on Caterpillar, with Melius Research setting a target price of $500.00 and JPMorgan raising its target from $395.00 to $475.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $1.41 to $1.51 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.39%.

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $419.33.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.2% in 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 during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $434.07 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $377.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $351.76. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $434.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $204.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.43%.

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.

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