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Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Rating) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $243.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $241.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 28th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $250.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Friday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 8th.

In other Caterpillar news, insider Joseph E. Creed sold 2,757 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.13, for a total transaction of $590,356.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $219.82 per share, for a total transaction of $131,892.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $545,153.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,577 shares of company stock valued at $2,663,056. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.0% during the first quarter. Waypoint Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,784 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.7% in the first quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 2,880 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Next Level Private LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the first quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 3,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

CAT stock opened at $187.44 on Wednesday. Caterpillar has a one year low of $176.02 and a one year high of $237.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $99.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $209.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.07.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.22. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 35.10% and a net margin of 12.33%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 12.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 19th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 37.22%.

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, backhoe loaders, compactors, cold planers, compact track and multi-terrain loaders, excavators, motorgraders, pipelayers, road reclaimers, site prep tractors, skid steer loaders, telehandlers, and utility vehicles; mini, small, medium, and large excavators; compact, small, and medium wheel loaders; track-type tractors and loaders; and wheel excavators.

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