Morgan Stanley Upgrades Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Equal Weight

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $283.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock, down from their prior price target of $300.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on CAT. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $361.64.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3 %

Caterpillar stock traded up $3.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $293.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,716,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,637,934. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $327.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $363.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

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

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Caterpillar by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $291,938,000 after acquiring an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.