Altshuler Shaham Ltd Has $1.82 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 407.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,547 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $90,670,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 53,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,893,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 424,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,383,000 after purchasing an additional 46,691 shares during the last quarter. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $375,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Caterpillar to $1,165 from $1,125 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s upside. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighted Caterpillar as a blue-chip stock to own, helped by bullish market momentum as the Dow reached a new milestone. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar recently increased its dividend, reinforcing management’s confidence in cash generation and making the stock more attractive to income investors. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage also pointed to Caterpillar’s improving growth story, including a large AI-related backlog and rising demand in its power generation business, which supports a stronger long-term outlook. Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market recap pieces noted Caterpillar’s gains were helping lift the Dow to record highs, but these articles were more about broad index performance than a new company-specific catalyst. MSN

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,103.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $935.09.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.0%

Caterpillar stock opened at $955.17 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $356.96 and a 1-year high of $975.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $439.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $865.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $735.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.06%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,789.82. This trade represents a 37.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.