Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America has raised its price target for Caterpillar stock from $517.00 to $594.00, maintaining a "buy" rating and indicating a potential upside of 12.34%.
• Several other analysts have increased their price targets for Caterpillar, with JPMorgan setting a target as high as $650.00, reflecting a positive consensus among analysts.
• Caterpillar's stock recently opened at $528.75 and has shown a 4.8% increase in trading, indicating strong market performance.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Bank of America from $517.00 to $594.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Bank of America's price target suggests a potential upside of 12.34% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.60.

Caterpillar Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE:CAT opened at $528.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $446.55 and a 200-day moving average of $386.71. The company has a market cap of $247.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $531.56.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% in the 2nd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,037,000 after buying an additional 7,125 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.2% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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.

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