Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $434.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective upped by Bank of America from $376.00 to $434.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $339.94.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

CAT stock opened at $391.09 on Monday. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $397.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $350.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $347.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.91 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Caterpillar by 306.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after purchasing an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $97,042,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,060,000 after acquiring an additional 244,253 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 104.6% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,768,000 after acquiring an additional 200,134 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.