Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Caterpillar Inc. shares reached a new 52-week high of $436.40, closing at $433.16 with significant trading volume.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Caterpillar, with ten buy ratings and a target price averaging $419.33, indicating a "Moderate Buy" sentiment.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.39%, reflecting a positive signal for investors.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $436.40 and last traded at $433.16, with a volume of 2550228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $433.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $201.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $383.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $353.96.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 29.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $466,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $391,788,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,861 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.