Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $331.00 to $388.00. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Caterpillar traded as high as $425.49 and last traded at $424.68, with a volume of 1007034 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $417.19.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $419.33.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during 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 buying an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after buying an additional 724,477 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after buying an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,429,416,000 after buying an additional 312,878 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $377.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $351.88. The company has a market cap of $204.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. 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.