Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $300.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price raised by Robert W. Baird from $299.00 to $300.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an underperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $376.20 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $403.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $371.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $351.32.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $926,000. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.