Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Increased to $500.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $435.00 to $500.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $393.95 on Monday. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $403.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $358.99 and its 200 day moving average is $349.46.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 227,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,142,000 after buying an additional 3,772 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 872.0% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 26,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,477,000 after buying an additional 24,032 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.