Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $393.23, but opened at $373.50. Caterpillar shares last traded at $377.04, with a volume of 701,288 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $182.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $370.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.