Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $383.80.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $329.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $157.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $354.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.24. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 282,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,303,000 after acquiring an additional 11,487 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.