Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $920.00 at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its price target on Caterpillar to $920 (from $786) and kept a buy rating, implying roughly a 15.8% upside, while the MarketBeat consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a $757.55 target.
• Caterpillar posted a quarterly EPS beat of $5.16 versus $4.67 and revenue of $19.13 billion (up 17.9% year‑over‑year), alongside strong profitability metrics including a 13.14% net margin and 45.76% ROE.
• Insiders have sold about 125,950 shares worth roughly $88.6 million in the last three months (insider ownership 0.33%), while institutional investors own about 71% of the stock.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $786.00 to $920.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Truist Financial's target price points to a potential upside of 15.76% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $765.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $678.00 to $769.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $757.55.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE CAT opened at $794.75 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $735.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $636.39. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $282.46 and a 12 month high of $801.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.23, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.52.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.14 earnings per share. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 972 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.20, for a total transaction of $742,802.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $629,700.80. This represents a 54.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 7,891 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.90, for a total transaction of $6,130,517.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,643 shares in the company, valued at $36,236,946.70. The trade was a 14.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 125,950 shares of company stock valued at $88,577,390. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.

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