Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Increased to $434.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price raised by analysts at Bank of America from $376.00 to $434.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 11.26% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.3 %

CAT traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $390.08. 586,810 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,676,779. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $346.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $346.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $397.22.

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

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after buying an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,139,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,406,471,000 after purchasing an additional 173,108 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,022,488,000 after purchasing an additional 165,358 shares in the last quarter. 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.