Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $670.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price raised by research analysts at Wolfe Research from $470.00 to $670.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.92% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. HSBC upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Argus lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Caterpillar from $557.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $618.70.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $577.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $270.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $627.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $572.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $482.71.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 61,895 shares of company stock worth $34,007,516 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 20,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.