Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $295.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $285.00 to $295.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sell rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $358.19.

Caterpillar Stock Up 8.8 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $416.97 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $374.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $352.11. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $233.57 and a twelve month high of $418.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,792 shares of company stock worth $3,515,978 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.