Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Shares Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s share price rose 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $397.12 and last traded at $394.01. Approximately 356,247 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 2,635,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $393.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $192.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $361.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $349.92.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.