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

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $630.98 and last traded at $629.1380, with a volume of 858033 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $617.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price target (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $618.70.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $580.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $496.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $568.86 per share, with a total value of $170,658.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,730.42. This trade represents a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,729 shares of company stock valued at $31,084,308. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KWB Wealth boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, one8zero8 LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% in the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Caterpillar

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.