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

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) gapped down prior to trading 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 traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.83.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $350.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.80. The firm has a market cap of $171.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 16.7% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,370,000 after acquiring an additional 52,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in 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.