Caterpillar Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 82,925 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 230% compared to the typical volume of 25,118 call options.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1 %

Caterpillar stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $357.93. 1,919,696 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,434,640. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $345.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.21. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $178.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.82%.

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.