Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1,007.00 and last traded at $1,009.3030, with a volume of 72412 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $985.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $790.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $935.09.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.2%

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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $875.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $741.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $463.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total value of $326,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 530 shares in the company, valued at $480,180. This represents a 40.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.