Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CAT. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $300.00 to $309.00 in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $366.00.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $9.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $323.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,764,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,631,022. 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 firm has a market cap of $154.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $318.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $357.27.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 26.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 443,315 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $174,644,000 after purchasing an additional 55,448 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,107,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.