Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $432.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $304.00 to $432.00 in a research report issued on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target points to a potential upside of 6.70% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CAT. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.47.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $404.89 on Monday. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $364.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $348.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.2% in the second quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 4,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $225,000. Floyd Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $207,000. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 25.0% during the second quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Caterpillar

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.