Federated Hermes Inc. Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 29.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,567 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in 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 during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $708.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $740.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $729.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $681.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 104,677 shares of company stock worth $66,995,141. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and data‑center tailwind — CAT reported Q4 revenue and EPS above estimates, driven by Power & Energy strength as data‑center buildouts boosted demand for turbines and backup power. That underpins near‑term earnings momentum and revenue visibility. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifting targets and reiterating buys — Multiple firms raised price targets (e.g., Rothschild & Co Redburn raised to $700) and several banks kept/raised positive ratings, creating additional upside catalysts. Rothschild PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Record backlog and multi‑year growth plan — Management cites a ~$51B backlog and guidance for 5–7% annual sales through 2030 plus a 25% increase in 2026 capex to expand capacity, which supports conversion of backlog into revenue over time. MarketBeat Backlog Analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns narrative — Coverage highlighting strong free‑cash‑flow and large capital returns (dividends/repurchases) supports investor appetite for the stock. Forbes on Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic tech partnership — Caterpillar awarded a multi‑year infrastructure modernization engagement to ACI; operationally useful but unlikely to materially move near‑term revenue. ACI Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — Coverage notes CAT’s strong run and asks whether shares are rich after the rally; this frames the risk/reward debate for investors but doesn’t change fundamentals immediately. Valuation Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Several senior insiders disclosed multi‑million‑dollar sales (e.g., Denise C. Johnson, Anthony Fassino, Bob De Lange) that meaningfully trimmed their holdings; while such sales can be routine, the size of the disposals can fuel short‑term selling or signal profit‑taking at current highs. Insider Sale Filing

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $692.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $612.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $525.73. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $723.16.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.14 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Caterpillar Profile

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.