Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Given New $785.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $760.00 to $785.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $677.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $625.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $726.00.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.4%

Caterpillar stock opened at $704.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $327.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $789.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $683.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $578.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 35,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,222,221.19. This represents a 6.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisory Resource Group raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Invst LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Plancorp LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KDT Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst price‑target raises lift the outlook and signal upside potential; Citigroup bumped its target to $785 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying further upside from current levels. Article Title MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Additional published price‑target increases (to $817 and $825) further underpin analyst confidence and provide explicit upside benchmarks for investors. Price Target $817 Price Target $825
• Positive Sentiment: Product and tech innovation headlines — including a new heavy electric‑drive dozer and AI/autonomous jobsite showcases at CONEXPO — support a re‑rating toward higher valuation multiples if execution and adoption continue. Electric Dozer AI Jobsite Tech
• Positive Sentiment: Positive media/analyst features (Zacks, Motley Fool) frame CAT as a long‑term favorite and list reasons to buy, reinforcing investor interest and momentum narratives. Zacks Fool
• Neutral Sentiment: Forbes highlights a short‑term pullback from recent highs and debates buy‑the‑dip vs. profit‑taking; useful for traders weighing entry timing but not a change to the company’s fundamentals. Forbes
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Market Edge highlighted Caterpillar among notable names — additional visibility but no new company guidance reported. Zacks Market Edge
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: the CEO sold about $1.8M of stock; outlets note this activity and it has prompted intraday weakness in some reports — a potential near‑term headwind for sentiment. Insider Sale Trading Down Article

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.