Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $708.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Bank of America from $650.00 to $708.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.42% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $623.10.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3%

CAT traded up $8.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $647.05. 2,051,809 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,409,672. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $652.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $583.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.29.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,729 shares of company stock worth $31,084,308 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after purchasing an additional 208,196 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $2,165,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,494,568,000 after buying an additional 5,098,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,695,757,000 after acquiring an additional 609,023 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.