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Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Rating) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, May 19th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $241.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $250.00 to $240.00 in a report on Friday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $164.00 to $161.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.50.

CAT traded up $6.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $185.49. 4,854,792 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,646,621. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $176.02 and a 1 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 capitalization of $98.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $211.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.26.

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

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $219.82 per share, for a total transaction of $131,892.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,480 shares in the company, valued at $545,153.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph E. Creed sold 5,004 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $1,175,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,757 shares in the company, valued at $647,895. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,577 shares of company stock worth $2,663,056. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Caterpillar by 51.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,124,623 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,484,176,000 after purchasing an additional 6,861,936 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,103,021,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $433,134,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 37,494,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,354,582,000 after buying an additional 992,608 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,223,787 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,745,224,000 after buying an additional 663,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile (Get Rating)

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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