Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Increased to $340.00 by Analysts at TD Cowen

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target boosted by TD Cowen from $338.00 to $340.00 in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an equal weight rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $310.83.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $343.37 on Friday. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $204.04 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $350.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.80.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.3 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.