Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Shares Gap Down to $363.52

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $363.52, but opened at $330.44. Caterpillar shares last traded at $337.79, with a volume of 2,249,267 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $349.37 and a 200 day moving average of $300.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. now owns 43,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,879,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $962,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.