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

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) had its price target upped by Truist Financial from $454.00 to $471.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company's stock.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $375.63.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.0 %

Caterpillar stock traded down $3.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $360.37. 2,616,392 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,547,979. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $276.94 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $390.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $361.18.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 25.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 33.7% during the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,485,000 after buying an additional 4,182 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.