JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $435.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $385.00 to $435.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and upped their target price for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an equal weight rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $357.93 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $345.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.21. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $204.04 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 130,632.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,859,000 after buying an additional 9,776,533 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,660,560,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $433,134,000. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 24,982.9% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,538,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,808,000 after buying an additional 1,531,952 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after buying an additional 1,488,813 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.