Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Caterpillar has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with 16 buy ratings, 9 hold ratings and 1 strong buy across 26 brokerage firms. The average 1-year price target among those firms is about $935.09.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.54 versus the $4.65 estimate and revenue of $17.42 billion versus $16.53 billion expected. Revenue rose 22.2% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 24.62.
• Caterpillar also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.63 per share from $1.51, putting the annualized payout at $6.52 and the yield at roughly 0.7%. Meanwhile, insider selling and recent institutional buying show mixed but active trading in the stock.

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $935.0909.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,103.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial set a $1,043.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $955.17 on Thursday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $865.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $735.73. The company has a market capitalization of $439.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.59. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $356.96 and a 1 year high of $975.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The business's revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 24.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

More Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Caterpillar to $1,165 from $1,125 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s upside. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighted Caterpillar as a blue-chip stock to own, helped by bullish market momentum as the Dow reached a new milestone. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar recently increased its dividend, reinforcing management’s confidence in cash generation and making the stock more attractive to income investors. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage also pointed to Caterpillar’s improving growth story, including a large AI-related backlog and rising demand in its power generation business, which supports a stronger long-term outlook. Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market recap pieces noted Caterpillar’s gains were helping lift the Dow to record highs, but these articles were more about broad index performance than a new company-specific catalyst. MSN

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. S&A Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. LFG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. LFG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 231,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $164,107,000 after buying an additional 58,930 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 438 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 13,090 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,274,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.

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