Truist Financial Boosts Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $414.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price lifted by Truist Financial from $396.00 to $414.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.83.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $371.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $338.55 and its 200 day moving average is $346.61. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This 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 through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $3,640,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $352,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.