Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by German American Bancorp Inc.

German American Bancorp Inc. cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,335 shares during the quarter. German American Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after buying an additional 12,278 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 155.9% in the 3rd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,014,000 after buying an additional 28,773 shares in the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 149.6% during the third quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,884,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total value of $5,750,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at $26,142,227.60. The trade was a 18.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 120,747 shares of company stock valued at $78,324,008 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $726.38 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $727.40. The company has a market cap of $339.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $617.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $529.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and revenue/backlog strength — CAT reported revenue and EPS above expectations and highlighted a record backlog that supports near‑term revenue visibility. Zacks: Post Q4 analysis
• Positive Sentiment: AI / data‑center tailwind — Coverage highlights growing demand for power and infrastructure tied to AI data‑center buildouts, which is a new revenue catalyst beyond traditional equipment cycles. Yahoo: AI data centers
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade & higher price target — HSBC raised its CAT target to $850 and maintained a buy rating, adding upward pressure to the stock. MarketScreener: HSBC PT raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Market momentum helped lift the name — CAT was one of the contributors to the Dow’s rally today, so some of the move is broad market/sector strength rather than company‑specific news. MSN: Dow soars
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — Multiple writeups note that CAT’s rerating has pushed valuation to a premium, framing risk/reward even as fundamentals improve. This shapes investor caution but doesn’t change the underlying backlog/earnings. MarketBeat: Valuation piece
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Several senior insiders disclosed multi‑million dollar stock sales (e.g., Denise C. Johnson, Bob De Lange), which can signal profit‑taking and may create short‑term selling pressure. InsiderTrades: Insider sales
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution on pace of growth — CFRA and others warn that while financials are strong, underlying growth may not be fast enough to justify some of the recent extreme share‑price moves; that comment tempers the rally. YouTube: CFRA caution

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $710.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $677.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $729.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $740.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $690.90.

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.