Evercore ISI Boosts Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $375.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $365.00 to $375.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “in-line” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.50% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $348.84 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $370.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.40. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $166.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.89 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 (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,790,841,000 after purchasing an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $2,184,364,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.