Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Given New $435.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective lowered by Citigroup from $445.00 to $435.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $379.63 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $372.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $351.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $232.88 and a 52-week high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.