Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price Up 1.2%

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) shares shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $333.17 and last traded at $332.49. 425,028 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,675,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $328.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAT. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $161.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $337.28 and its 200 day moving average is $331.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $1.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $246,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 47.1% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,313,000 after buying an additional 2,715 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $464,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $480,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 219,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,847,000 after acquiring an additional 21,553 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.