Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $395.00 to $483.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Caterpillar traded as high as $419.90 and last traded at $414.75, with a volume of 606775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $412.88.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $412.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. GSB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% during the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,575 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.7%

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $365.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $349.05. The company has a market capitalization of $195.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 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.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

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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