Key Points
- Anthony Fassino sold 10,671 shares of Caterpillar on Feb. 2 at an average price of $680.45 for about $7.26M, cutting his stake by 20.59% to 41,151 shares (≈$28.0M).
- Caterpillar beat Q4 estimates, reporting EPS of $5.16 versus $4.67 and revenue of $19.13B (up 17.9% year-over-year), signaling strong near-term earnings momentum.
- Several analysts raised price targets and kept positive ratings while management highlights a record ~$51B backlog and a sizable shareholder-return program, providing upward catalysts despite insider selling.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) insider Anthony Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total transaction of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7%
Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $702.84 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $710.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $609.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $524.56. The firm has a market cap of $328.92 billion, a PE ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Caterpillar Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 32.09%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have commented on CAT shares. William Blair set a $735.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $729.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $740.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $729.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $679.48.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Caterpillar
Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar
Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and data-center demand — Caterpillar reported revenue and EPS above estimates, with Power & Energy sales up sharply as data-center buildouts drove demand for natural-gas turbines and backup power. That beat reinforces near-term earnings momentum. CAT Earnings Beat
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts raising price targets — Multiple firms (including Truist and Citi) bumped CAT targets and kept buy ratings, giving the stock fresh upward catalysts and validating the post-earnings narrative. Analyst Price Target Raises
- Positive Sentiment: Record backlog and multi-year growth visibility — Management cites a record ~$51B backlog and sees 5–7% annual sales through 2030, supported by planned capacity spend (higher 2026 capex) that could convert backlog into revenue over time. MarketBeat CAT Analysis
- Positive Sentiment: Large shareholder returns narrative — Coverage highlighting the company’s strong free-cash-flow returns and sizable capital returns program can support investor sentiment. Forbes: Shareholder Returns
- Neutral Sentiment: Strategic tech partnership — ACI won a multi-year engagement to modernize Caterpillar’s digital infrastructure; operationally useful but unlikely to move near-term revenue much. ACI Partnership PR
- Neutral Sentiment: Product rollout — New compact 308CR mini-excavator announced; supports product-cycle narrative but is incremental to overall results. 308CR Mini-Excavator
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Two senior insiders disclosed sizable sales (multi-million-dollar disposals), reducing their stakes. While often routine, large insider sales can weigh on sentiment if interpreted as profit-taking at lofty valuations. Insider Sale Filing
About Caterpillar
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
