Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CATGet Free Report)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $957.36 and last traded at $953.1570, with a volume of 205770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $933.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,103.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $933.27.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Caterpillar

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $439.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.54, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $856.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $730.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CATGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.62 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total value of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after buying an additional 442,164 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,273,039,000 after acquiring an additional 385,204 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,072,572,000 after acquiring an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Caterpillar by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after purchasing an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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