Caterpillar Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 82,925 call options on the company. This is an increase of 230% compared to the average daily volume of 25,118 call options.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $357.93 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $345.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.21. The company has a market cap of $178.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.33 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,580,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,634,000 after buying an additional 9,695 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.8% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,075,000 after buying an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.56.

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.