Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Shares Up 3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares of Caterpillar rose about 3% to roughly $701 (intraday high $712) on Monday, with volume slightly above average (~2.98M shares).
• Wall Street sentiment is a consensus Moderate Buy (16 Buys, 7 Holds, 1 Sell) with a consensus target of $730.50 and recent price-target raises from Citigroup ($785) and Daiwa ($790).
• Caterpillar beat the quarter—EPS $5.16 vs. $4.67 estimate and revenue $19.13B vs. $17.81B (revenue +17.9% YoY)—and trades at a PE of ~37.3 with a market cap near $326B.

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) rose 3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $712.00 and last traded at $701.3790. Approximately 2,979,978 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 2,936,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $680.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $760.00 to $785.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $678.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $640.00 to $790.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $677.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $730.50.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.0%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $701.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $595.65. 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 company has a market capitalization of $326.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total value of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 45,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $2,165,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,494,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,098,964 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $1,225,317,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1,851.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,830,414 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $873,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 573.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $861,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,087 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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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