DA Davidson Issues Positive Forecast for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price boosted by DA Davidson from $350.00 to $357.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $379.50.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $362.21 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $380.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $371.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $174.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.45 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,936 shares of company stock valued at $11,558,971. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Czech National Bank raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,634,000 after acquiring an additional 5,584 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.3% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.0% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% in the third quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.