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

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $383.80.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Caterpillar by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 282,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,303,000 after purchasing an additional 11,487 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.8% during the third quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $339.35 on Tuesday. Caterpillar has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $356.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.