Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $330.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.13.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $371.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $381.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.82. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $299.93 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.