Bank of America Increases Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $434.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Bank of America from $376.00 to $434.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 10.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.94.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $392.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $347.14. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $397.22.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.55 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 40,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,735,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 12,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,311,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $330,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.