Truist Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Truist Financial from $471.00 to $455.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $380.60.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.96 during trading on Thursday, reaching $380.85. 1,970,913 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,002,420. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $183.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $380.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $366.26.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.