Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Raised to $380.00 at Morgan Stanley

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $350.00 to $380.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

CAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Caterpillar from $425.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.25.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $582.30 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $596.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $272.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $475.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after buying an additional 208,196 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after buying an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after buying an additional 33,467 shares in 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.