Dow Today: Caterpillar (CAT) Leads The Day Higher, Procter & Gamble (PG) Lags

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed down 6.0 points at 12,496. During the day, 775.8 million shares of the 30 Dow components have changed hands vs. an average daily trading volume of 731.4 million. The NYSE advances/declines ratio closed at 1,826 issues advancing vs. 1,182 declining with 114 unchanged.

The Dow component that led the way higher today was Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), which sported a 98-cent gain (+1.1%) bringing the stock to $92.47. Volume for Caterpillar ended the day at 6.6 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 6.7 million shares.

Caterpillar has a market cap of $60.02 billion and is part of the conglomerates sector and conglomerates industry. Shares are up 1.5% year to date as of Tuesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 2%.

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 11.6, equal to the average conglomerates industry P/E ratio and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Caterpillar as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, notable return on equity, impressive record of earnings per share growth and compelling growth in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally poor debt management on most measures that we evaluated.

• You can view the full Caterpillar Ratings Report.

Holding the Dow back today was Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), which lagged the broader Dow index with a 77-cent decline (-1.2%) bringing the stock to $62.38. This single loss is lowering the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 5.83 points or roughly accounting for 97.2% of the Dow's overall loss. Volume for Procter & Gamble ended the day at 12.3 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 10.8 million shares.

• See our dividend calendar or top-yielding stocks list.

Procter & Gamble has a market cap of $173.7 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector and consumer non-durables industry. Shares are down 5.3% year to date as of Tuesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 3.5%.

The Procter & Gamble Company provides consumer packaged goods in the United States and internationally. The company has a P/E ratio of 19.4, equal to the average consumer non-durables industry P/E ratio and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Procter & Gamble as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, expanding profit margins and reasonable valuation levels. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself.

• You can view the full Procter & Gamble Ratings Report.

For more information on Caterpillar Inc click any of the following:

• Caterpillar Inc Stock Price

• Caterpillar Inc Analyst Ratings

• Caterpillar Inc Key Stats & Profile

• Caterpillar Inc Earnings

• Caterpillar Inc Ratio Comparison

• Caterpillar Inc Growth Rates

• Caterpillar Inc Balance Sheet

• Caterpillar Inc Cash Flow

• Caterpillar Inc Income Statement