Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $650.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target increased by Bank of America from $594.00 to $650.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $568.50.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $578.28 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $409.18. The stock has a market cap of $270.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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 bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,656,286,000 after buying an additional 208,196 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after buying an additional 264,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after buying an additional 33,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.