Key Points
- Director David Maclennan bought 350 Caterpillar shares at an average of $596.10, spending $208,635 and increasing his direct holdings by 4.16% to 8,773 shares.
- Caterpillar’s latest quarterly EPS of $7.20 beat analysts’ $7.06 estimate, while revenue of $20.68 billion came in slightly below expectations but rose 17.3% year over year.
- Several brokerages recently lowered their price targets, though analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $898.25; CAT traded at $599.80 in the article.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $596.10 per share, for a total transaction of $208,635.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,229,585.30. The trade was a 4.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.
Caterpillar Price Performance
Shares of CAT stock traded down $5.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $599.80. 2,287,211 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,857,929. The company has a market capitalization of $274.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $537.08 and a 12-month high of $1,073.46. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $740.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $805.20.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.14. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 59.87%. The company had revenue of $20.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.38 earnings per share for the current year.
Caterpillar Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 25.58%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $925.00 to $750.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research lowered Caterpillar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $1,155.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $882.00 to $685.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $898.25.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Caterpillar
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,457,153,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,276,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,120,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396,356 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $5,818,150,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $3,192,710,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $2,783,451,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.
Top Caterpillar Stories
Here are a few of the latest stories about CAT:
About Caterpillar
(
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Caterpillar Inc. is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, engines, turbines, and related products and services. Its offerings include earthmoving and material-handling machines, diesel and natural gas engines, power-generation systems, and equipment and technologies used in mining and transportation. The company's products are commonly sold under the Cat brand. Caterpillar serves customers in markets around the world through a network of independent dealers. Its businesses also provide parts, maintenance, equipment rental, and other support services, as well as financing and insurance through its financial services operations.
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