Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives $616.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $616.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.1%

Caterpillar stock opened at $583.09 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $627.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $272.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $568.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $477.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,669,312.16. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,895 shares of company stock worth $34,007,516. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $140,000. Finivi Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Finivi Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 61.2% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 5,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,543,000 after buying an additional 2,024 shares during the last quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.6% in the third quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers National Bank grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the third quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 2,824 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.