Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Rating Lowered by Stifel Nicolaus

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was downgraded by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $350.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $293.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price points to a potential upside of 3.48% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.72.

Caterpillar Stock Down 7.0 %

CAT stock opened at $338.24 on Friday. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $349.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.30.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $1,660,560,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after buying an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 27,495.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,182,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $349,616,000 after buying an additional 1,178,168 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,265.3% in the third quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,117,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after acquiring an additional 781,111 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.