Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $331.00 at DA Davidson

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target raised by DA Davidson from $325.00 to $331.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $309.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.67.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $323.04 on Monday. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $317.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $356.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $154.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Caterpillar by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,060,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is 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.