Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a buy rating to a hold rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.8 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $350.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $171.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $336.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $335.97.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,863 shares of company stock worth $8,837,714. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Leisure Capital Management bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $470,000. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,549,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the second quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,002,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 14,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,711,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the second quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.