Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Hits New 12-Month High at $382.01

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $382.01 and last traded at $379.49, with a volume of 270701 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $379.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.89.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $186.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $336.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.65.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Waterway Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $100,370,000 after acquiring an additional 52,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.