Caterpillar Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 82,925 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 230% compared to the typical volume of 25,118 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $357.93 on Friday. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The stock has a market cap of $178.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $345.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 in the last quarter. 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. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.