The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $408.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $357.00 to $408.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $357.93 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $345.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.21. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $204.04 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The stock has a market cap of $178.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.86 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130,632.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,343,859,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,533 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.