Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $702.95.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $740.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $677.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets lift the outlook — Bank of America raised its CAT target to $825 and Argus boosted its target to $820 with a buy rating, supporting upside vs. peers. Bank of America Raises CAT Price Target Argus Raises Target
• Positive Sentiment: Press and research lift the narrative that CAT is a beneficiary of structural trends (AI automation in heavy equipment, India infrastructure demand), which supports longer-term revenue exposure. MSN AI Boom Story India Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Inclusion in favorable fund and research write-ups (Barron’s coverage noting CAT leading a dividend ETF’s gains; Zacks highlighting CAT as a long-term pick) adds demand from dividend/value and quant investors. Barron’s Dividend ETF Zacks Feature
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events and analyst reports: CFO Andrew Bonfield will appear at a Barclays conference (potential for new guidance/color) and Yahoo Finance syndicated research summaries published today; likely to generate incremental newsflow but not immediate direction. CFO Barclays Chat Top Research Reports
• Positive Sentiment: Small institutional buying reported (Allegheny Financial Group increased its stake), which is supportive of demand from asset managers. Allegheny Buys
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/insider-adjacent selling filings (recent small sales disclosed) and elevated volume suggest profit-taking after the rally; these sales can weigh on near-term price momentum. Insider Sales 1 Insider Sales 2

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $758.70 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $630.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $538.08. The company has a market cap of $355.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $789.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. The trade was a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. The trade was a 18.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 130,545 shares of company stock worth $88,294,733. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $233,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors increased its stake in Caterpillar by 8.5% in the second quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 1,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.