Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $670.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CATFree Report) had its price target boosted by Wolfe Research from $470.00 to $670.00 in a research note released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Wolfe Research currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “mixed” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Three 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $618.70.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Caterpillar

Caterpillar Stock Up 4.4%

CAT stock opened at $598.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $574.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $486.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CATGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 61,895 shares of company stock worth $34,007,516. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,820,000 after buying an additional 12,278 shares in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its position in Caterpillar by 155.9% in the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,014,000 after acquiring an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 9.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,037,000 after acquiring an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Caterpillar Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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