Citigroup Boosts Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $670.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective upped by analysts at Citigroup from $570.00 to $670.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.86% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $502.00 to $557.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 target price for the company. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $568.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8%

Caterpillar stock opened at $578.28 on Friday. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $596.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $409.18.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $35,000. 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.