Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target Lowered to $414.00 at Bank of America

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Bank of America from $452.00 to $414.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.05% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $381.13.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $2.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $372.80. 999,605 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,245,986. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $299.93 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $381.40 and its 200 day moving average is $370.82. The stock has a market cap of $179.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 255,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Caterpillar by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 75,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,535,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 1,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 4,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1,188.5% in the 4th quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 1,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.