Brokerages Set Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Target Price at $584.50

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $596.5882.

A number of analysts have commented on CAT shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $568.86 per share, with a total value of $170,658.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,730.42. This represents a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 69,662 shares of company stock worth $33,575,140 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WealthShield Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. one8zero8 LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% during the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the third quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 3,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Cyr Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cyr Financial Inc. now owns 811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Coastwise Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $562.82 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $491.77 and its 200 day moving average is $419.59. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $596.21. The firm has a market cap of $263.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

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.