Citigroup Lowers Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $420.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Citigroup from $460.00 to $420.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 13.21% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on CAT. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $381.67.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.3 %

CAT stock traded up $8.50 on Tuesday, hitting $371.00. 1,166,474 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,861,621. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $276.94 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $381.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $365.94.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.