Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Given New $517.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective hoisted by Bank of America from $495.00 to $517.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $464.33.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.0%

CAT opened at $481.35 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $225.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $426.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $473.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 16,472 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Institutional investors 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.