Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) PT Raised to $435.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $385.00 to $435.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

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

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 16.7% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,370,000 after acquiring an additional 52,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.