Oppenheimer Boosts Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Price Target to $700.00

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) had its target price boosted by Oppenheimer from $645.00 to $700.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price suggests a potential upside of 9.32% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $557.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $730.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $690.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $625.85.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE CAT opened at $640.34 on Tuesday. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $655.68. The company has a market capitalization of $299.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.95, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $588.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $505.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total value of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total value of $4,666,353.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 54,729 shares of company stock worth $31,084,308 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MRA Advisory Group grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 1,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,311,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by 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.