Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Trading Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $773.94 and last traded at $768.1950. 2,567,662 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 2,948,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $756.47.

Trending Headlines about Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar Venture Capital participated in the first closing of ElevenEs’ Series B, giving CAT strategic exposure to a private company and signaling continued corporate VC activity that could support future technology or market access gains. ElevenEs held 1st Closing of its Series B Investment Round Backed by Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights Caterpillar’s earnings growth and price strength, increasing investor attention and momentum flow into the stock — a technical/visibility positive that can support higher multiples near term. Earnings Growth & Price Strength Make Caterpillar (CAT) a Stock to Watch
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Caterpillar, which directly improves forward earnings expectations and helps justify recent stock strength. Upward revisions from sell-side analysts are a common catalyst for share-price gains. Caterpillar FY2026 EPS Estimate Lifted by Erste Group Bank
• Neutral Sentiment: Benzinga’s roundup of analyst expectations summarizes consensus views and forward drivers — useful context but not a single clear directional catalyst; investors should watch for further analyst upgrades or downgrades. Analyst Expectations For Caterpillar’s Future
• Neutral Sentiment: Yahoo Finance notes that CAT’s strong short- and long-term gains have elevated valuation metrics; this is a reminder to weigh higher P/E and momentum against fundamentals if considering new positions. Assessing Caterpillar (CAT) Valuation After Powerful Short And Long Term Share Price Gains

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, February 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $677.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $702.95.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a market cap of $357.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $653.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $555.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 972 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.20, for a total value of $742,802.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $629,700.80. The trade was a 54.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 141,172 shares of company stock worth $96,514,673. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after acquiring an additional 442,164 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,273,039,000 after purchasing an additional 385,204 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,072,572,000 after purchasing an additional 94,524 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Caterpillar by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after buying an additional 928,974 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.