Dow Today: Caterpillar (CAT) Leads The Day Higher, Coca-Cola (KO) Lags

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed down 93.0 points (-0.7%) at 12,878. During the day, 560.5 million shares of the 30 Dow components have changed hands vs. an average daily trading volume of 687.2 million. The NYSE advances/declines ratio closed at 1,145 issues advancing vs. 1,866 declining with 115 unchanged.

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The Dow component that led the way higher today was Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), which sported a 47-cent gain (+0.6%) bringing the stock to $83.12. Volume for Caterpillar ended the day at eight million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 7.6 million shares.

Caterpillar has a market cap of $54.95 billion and is part of the conglomerates sector and conglomerates industry. Shares are down 8.8% year to date as of Wednesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 2.5%.

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 9.4, 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 Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), which lagged the broader Dow index with a $1.26 decline (-1.6%) bringing the stock to $79.75. This single loss lowered the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 9.54 points or roughly accounting for 10.3% of the Dow's overall loss. Volume for Coca-Cola ended the day at 6.5 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of seven million shares.

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Coca-Cola has a market cap of $181.88 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector and food & beverage industry. Shares are up 15.5% year to date as of Wednesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 2.5%.

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company primarily offers sparkling beverages and still beverages. The company has a P/E ratio of 21.4, equal to the average food & beverage industry P/E ratio and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Coca-Cola as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, good cash flow from operations, expanding profit margins and growth in earnings per share. 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 Coca-Cola Ratings Report.

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