Brokerages Set Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Price Target at $384.33

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $381.67.

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,157,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $729,000. Prudential PLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 38.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 10,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,854 shares during the period. Finally, Sachetta LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CAT opened at $374.81 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $380.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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.