Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Melius Research

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Melius Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $500.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock. Melius Research's price target points to a potential upside of 23.23% from the company's previous close.

CAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued 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 $404.64.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $2.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $405.73. 2,072,409 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,412. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $360.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $348.06. 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 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 196.7% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.