Key Points
- Director James Fish, Jr. bought 1,000 Caterpillar shares for $620,390, increasing his direct holdings by 26.93% to 4,714 shares.
- Caterpillar reported quarterly EPS of $7.20, above the $7.06 consensus, while revenue of $20.68 billion fell short of estimates; revenue rose 17.3% year over year.
- Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $898.25, though some have lowered targets or downgraded their ratings.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) Director James Fish, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $620.39 per share, with a total value of $620,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,924,518.46. The trade was a 26.93% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
Caterpillar Stock Up 1.6%
CAT stock opened at $623.53 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $775.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $807.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $537.08 and a 1-year high of $1,073.46. The stock has a market cap of $286.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.65.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.14. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.87% and a net margin of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $20.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.95 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.62 EPS for the current year.
Caterpillar Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Monday, October 26th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.58%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,009.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,027.00 target price (down from $1,100.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $882.00 to $685.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $898.25.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on CAT
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,457,153,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,276,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,120,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396,356 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $5,818,150,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $3,192,710,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $2,783,451,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.
Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar
Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar is expanding engine and turbine production to meet data-center demand, a growth opportunity for its power-generation business. The company also reported a record $78 billion backlog and strong quarterly growth, although margin pressure remains a concern. Article: Caterpillar expands production of engines and turbines to meet data center demand
- Positive Sentiment: Director James Fish bought 1,000 shares for about $620,000, increasing his holdings by roughly 27%. The insider purchase may signal confidence in Caterpillar’s prospects. Article: Caterpillar director share purchase
- Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital Markets maintained a Buy rating after lowering its price target to $800 from $980, still indicating substantial potential upside from the price cited in the report. Article: Freedom Capital Markets price target
- Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar completed its acquisition of long-time dealer John Fabick Tractor Company, adding its Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan Upper Peninsula operations to the company’s dealer network. The deal may strengthen regional customer support, though its near-term financial impact is unclear. Article: Caterpillar acquires Fabick Cat dealership
- Negative Sentiment: DA Davidson cut its price target to $685 from $882 and kept a Neutral rating, citing valuation concerns despite improving demand. The debate over whether Caterpillar’s premium valuation and margin pressures are justified could weigh on sentiment. Article: Caterpillar target cut and margin concerns
About Caterpillar
(
Get Free Report)
Caterpillar Inc is a manufacturer of construction, mining, and industrial equipment. Its product portfolio includes excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, motor graders, articulated trucks, and other machinery used in construction, infrastructure development, mining, quarrying, forestry, and related industries. The company also produces diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, generator sets, and other power-generation and transportation equipment.
Caterpillar operates through businesses focused on construction industries, resource industries, and energy and transportation.
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