Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Given New $540.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $495.00 to $540.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $493.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.20.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $450.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.41. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $452.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $367.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other 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.