Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Trading 6.1% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) shot up 6.1% during trading on Tuesday after Wolfe Research raised their price target on the stock from $670.00 to $750.00. Wolfe Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Caterpillar traded as high as $708.89 and last traded at $707.8790. 2,994,736 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average session volume of 2,873,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $667.43.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC upped their target price on Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $677.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $737.55.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 35,083 shares in the company, valued at $25,222,221.19. The trade was a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total transaction of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 125,950 shares of company stock valued at $88,577,390 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

More Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical calming boosted industrial stocks, and Caterpillar has contributed to several Dow rallies as investors price in lower energy‑supply risk and steadier global demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research raised its price target to $750 and kept an Outperform rating, reinforcing buy‑side momentum and supporting upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and fundamental optimism: CAT recently climbed above its 50‑day SMA, backed by record revenues, rising estimates and a large ~$50B backlog that underpins medium‑term demand. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $700 but kept an Equal‑Weight rating, signaling mixed analyst views—some see more upside, others prefer to wait. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. tax law changes reduce Caterpillar’s federal cash taxes (boosting free cash flow) while increasing its reported book tax rate, which can inflate non‑cash tax expense and cloud earnings comparability. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability pressure: operating margins and operating income have shown signs of compression (tariffs, costs and pricing pressures cited), tempering optimism despite revenue growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider and institutional selling noted in recent filings (multiple senior exec sales and large fund reductions), which can weigh on sentiment even with buy ratings and high price‑target dispersion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed overall (some very high targets but also at least one recent Underweight), so diverging forecasts could sustain volatility as investors reconcile growth/backlog with margin risks. Read More.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3,949.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,494,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,098,964 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,225,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,851.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,830,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,631 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 573.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $861,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,087 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after purchasing an additional 928,974 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $712.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $610.15. The company has a market capitalization of $334.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.52.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

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.