Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $460.00 at Citigroup

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price upped by research analysts at Citigroup from $435.00 to $460.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.20% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $374.69.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $4.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $399.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,059,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,560,855. Caterpillar has a one year low of $259.12 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $192.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $392.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $359.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % 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 acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% during the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,182 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.