Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Trading 1.4% Higher

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s stock price rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $333.30 and last traded at $332.29. Approximately 407,168 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,659,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. TD Cowen raised their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $341.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.08. The firm has a market cap of $159.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.