Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $332.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock, down from their prior price target of $349.00.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $8.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $393.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,992,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,652,350. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $357.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $349.26. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $403.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $192.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 227,915 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,142,000 after acquiring an additional 3,772 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 872.0% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 26,788 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,477,000 after purchasing an additional 24,032 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 15.9% in the third quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 26.4% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.