JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $435.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $385.00 to $435.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $274.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $354.68 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $346.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $204.04 and a 52-week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 16.7% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,370,000 after buying an additional 52,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.