Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Given New $786.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $729.00 to $786.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.30% from the stock’s current price.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $678.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 price target on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $702.00 to $756.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $671.33.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of CAT traded up $18.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $675.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 335,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,417,633. The company’s 50-day moving average is $604.31 and its 200-day moving average is $520.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $316.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.58. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $679.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $5.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,874,576.40. The trade was a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,729 shares of company stock worth $31,084,308. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 82.0% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,820,000 after buying an additional 12,278 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 155.9% during the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,014,000 after purchasing an additional 28,773 shares in the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 149.6% in the 3rd quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $5,884,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.