Dow Today: Caterpillar (CAT) Leads The Day Higher, International Business Machines (IBM) Lags

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed down 10.0 points at 13,165. During the day, 418.8 million shares of the 30 Dow components have changed hands vs. an average daily trading volume of 669.3 million. The NYSE advances/declines ratio closed at 1,645 issues advancing vs. 1,343 declining with 135 unchanged.

• ACTIVE STOCK TRADERS: Check out TheStreet's special offer for Real Money, headlined by Jim Cramer, now!

The Dow component that led the way higher today was Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), which sported a $1.18 gain (+1.4%) bringing the stock to $88.40. Volume for Caterpillar ended the day at 6.6 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 7.7 million shares.

Caterpillar has a market cap of $56.98 billion and is part of the conglomerates sector and conglomerates industry. Shares are down 3.7% year to date as of Wednesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 2.4%.

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 9.8, 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 International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which lagged the broader Dow index with a 61-cent decline (-0.3%) bringing the stock to $198.42. This single loss lowered the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 4.62 points or roughly accounting for 46.2% of the Dow's overall loss. Volume for International Business Machines ended the day at two million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 4.1 million shares.

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

International Business Machines has a market cap of $228.47 billion and is part of the technology sector and computer hardware industry. Shares are up 8.7% year to date as of Wednesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 1.7%.

International Business Machines Corporation provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Global Technology Services, Global Business Services, Software, Systems and Technology, and Global Financing. The company has a P/E ratio of 14.6, equal to the average computer hardware industry P/E ratio and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates International Business Machines as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, growth in earnings per share, increase in net income, notable return on equity and expanding profit margins. 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 International Business Machines Ratings Report.

For more information on International Business Machines Corp click any of the following:

• International Business Machines Corp Stock Price

• International Business Machines Corp Analyst Ratings

• International Business Machines Corp Key Stats & Profile

• International Business Machines Corp Earnings

• International Business Machines Corp Ratio Comparison

• International Business Machines Corp Growth Rates

• International Business Machines Corp Balance Sheet

• International Business Machines Corp Cash Flow

• International Business Machines Corp Income Statement