Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) PT Raised to $340.00 at TD Cowen

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price target raised by stock analysts at TD Cowen from $338.00 to $340.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.98% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.83.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $343.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $171.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $350.10 and a 200-day moving average of $300.99. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $204.04 and a 52 week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.