Truist Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Truist Financial from $438.00 to $389.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $373.20.

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Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE CAT traded up $4.19 on Tuesday, hitting $293.35. 3,197,039 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,625,986. The company has a market capitalization of $140.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $333.97 and a 200 day moving average of $367.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $800,000. 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.