Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $408.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $357.00 to $408.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $359.65 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.86 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.33 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.