Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Trading 1.4% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s share price rose 1.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $755.73 and last traded at $753.49. Approximately 2,426,078 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 2,950,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $742.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Argus boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $625.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. HSBC lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $710.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $712.52.

Caterpillar Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $350.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.04, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $667.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $565.67.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.09%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 7,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $776.90, for a total transaction of $6,130,517.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,236,946.70. This represents a 14.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 43,350 shares in the company, valued at $29,524,818. The trade was a 47.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 133,450 shares of company stock valued at $92,530,665 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other 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.