Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Trading Up 1.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Caterpillar shares rose 1.8% after Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted its price target from $700 to $950, while keeping a neutral rating. The stock traded near $919, close to its intraday high of $920.35.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on CAT, with multiple firms recently raising price targets and the consensus view at Moderate Buy. MarketBeat says the average target price is $923.14.
• The company also had strong recent fundamentals, reporting Q1 EPS of $5.54 versus $4.65 expected and revenue of $17.42 billion, up 22.2% year over year. Insiders sold shares recently, but institutional ownership remains high at about 71%.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.8% on Thursday after Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on the stock from $700.00 to $950.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Caterpillar traded as high as $920.35 and last traded at $918.9880. Approximately 1,972,823 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 2,694,241 shares. The stock had previously closed at $902.30.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,103.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $960.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $790.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $923.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,573 shares of company stock worth $87,946,086. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on Caterpillar to $950 from $700, signaling continued upside even while keeping a neutral rating. Rothschild & Co Redburn price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer called Caterpillar a buy, pointing to demand tied to oil, infrastructure, and AI data-center power generation as key tailwinds. Jim Cramer says Caterpillar is a buy
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Caterpillar’s planned hiring increase at its Sanford, North Carolina plant suggests expanding production, which may support revenue growth expectations. Caterpillar hiring 600 workers at Sanford plant
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research on Saudi Arabia’s construction equipment market highlighted Caterpillar as a key player in a market expected to grow steadily through 2030, reinforcing long-term demand optimism. Saudi Arabia construction equipment market research
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling by executives, including Denise C. Johnson and William E. Schaupp, may be a mild overhang, but the sales were relatively modest versus their remaining holdings. Insider trade filing
• Neutral Sentiment: The Dow-related market commentary is not specific to Caterpillar, but it reflects a broader risk-on tone that can also lift industrial names like CAT. The Dow Hasn't Closed Above 50,000 Since February

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,572,681,000 after acquiring an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,273,039,000 after acquiring an additional 385,204 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,072,572,000 after acquiring an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,438,408,000 after acquiring an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,860,457,000 after acquiring an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.8%

The stock's fifty day moving average is $768.15 and its 200 day moving average is $675.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $423.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.63.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.25 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

About Caterpillar

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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