Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $396.00 to $414.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Truist Financial's price objective points to a potential upside of 14.84% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.67.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $360.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 882,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,526,669. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $333.96 and a 200 day moving average of $346.44. Caterpillar has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $169.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 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 accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $3,640,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Partners Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $352,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

About Caterpillar

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.