Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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’ price target indicates a potential upside of 3.48% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.72.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $338.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $168.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $349.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.30. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 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 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

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after buying an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after buying an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.