Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Trading Up 1.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s stock price was up 1.8% on Thursday after Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on the stock from $700.00 to $950.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Caterpillar traded as high as $920.35 and last traded at $918.9880. Approximately 1,972,823 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 2,694,241 shares. The stock had previously closed at $902.30.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,103.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $923.14.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,573 shares of company stock worth $87,946,086. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on Caterpillar to $950 from $700, signaling continued upside even while keeping a neutral rating. Rothschild & Co Redburn price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer called Caterpillar a buy, pointing to demand tied to oil, infrastructure, and AI data-center power generation as key tailwinds. Jim Cramer says Caterpillar is a buy
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Caterpillar’s planned hiring increase at its Sanford, North Carolina plant suggests expanding production, which may support revenue growth expectations. Caterpillar hiring 600 workers at Sanford plant
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research on Saudi Arabia’s construction equipment market highlighted Caterpillar as a key player in a market expected to grow steadily through 2030, reinforcing long-term demand optimism. Saudi Arabia construction equipment market research
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling by executives, including Denise C. Johnson and William E. Schaupp, may be a mild overhang, but the sales were relatively modest versus their remaining holdings. Insider trade filing
• Neutral Sentiment: The Dow-related market commentary is not specific to Caterpillar, but it reflects a broader risk-on tone that can also lift industrial names like CAT. The Dow Hasn’t Closed Above 50,000 Since February

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after buying an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,273,039,000 after buying an additional 385,204 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,072,572,000 after buying an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,438,408,000 after buying an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after buying an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $423.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.74, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $768.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $675.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.06%.

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.