Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Receives Market Perform Rating from Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.1 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $357.93 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $345.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.21. The company has a market cap of $178.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $204.04 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.4 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.82%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Altiora Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $219,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.5% in the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $207,000. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 13.1% during the first quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 323.9% in the first quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.