Analysts Set Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Target Price at $383.80

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $383.80.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $326.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $364.49 and a 200-day moving average of $372.98. The company has a market cap of $156.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

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.