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

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $320.00 to $370.00 in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $309.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.67.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $0.08 on Monday, reaching $324.17. The stock had a trading volume of 482,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,761,792. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business's 50-day moving average price is $316.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.82. The stock has a market cap of $154.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.