Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) traded down 1.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $692.70 and last traded at $693.2630. 1,744,679 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 2,906,526 shares. The stock had previously closed at $702.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $677.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $730.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $697.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $589.94. The company has a market cap of $322.57 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,524,818. This represents a 47.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 108.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.