StockNews.com Lowers Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CAT. Bank of America decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a buy rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.3 %

CAT opened at $329.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $161.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $339.86 and a 200-day moving average of $343.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.55 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after buying an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,139,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,406,471,000 after buying an additional 173,108 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $1,660,560,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after acquiring an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by 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.