Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Upgraded at Robert W. Baird

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $395.00 target price on the industrial products company's stock, up from their prior target price of $309.00. Robert W. Baird's price objective points to a potential upside of 11.71% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $375.50.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded up $3.79 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $353.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,558,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,240. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $166.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company's fifty day moving average is $317.14 and its 200-day moving average is $354.32.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,414,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 9,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,322,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.