Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $597.83 and last traded at $599.4350, with a volume of 269240 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $591.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.32.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $542.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.75.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total transaction of $5,714,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,460 shares in the company, valued at $31,692,062.40. This trade represents a 15.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at $23,669,312.16. This trade represents a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock worth $41,949,366. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,165,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,494,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,098,964 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,851.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,830,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $391,788,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.