Cherokee Insurance Co Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Cherokee Insurance Co reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Cherokee Insurance Co’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,844,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Juno Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $877,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $1,226,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 116,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,630,000 after purchasing an additional 18,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,517,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target on Caterpillar to $1,218 from $1,043 and kept a buy rating, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock’s earnings and growth outlook. Article Link
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Caterpillar as a momentum, long-term, and “trending” stock, suggesting investor interest remains strong and could help keep shares elevated. Article Link
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators pointed to Caterpillar’s role in powering data centers and other AI-related infrastructure, a theme that has helped explain the stock’s strong run. Article Link
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar also received fresh praise for strong backlog, earnings growth, and long-term expansion plans, which supports the case for continued upside. Article Link
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar announced a $5 million investment in Texas workforce training and manufacturing education, a positive long-term initiative but not likely a major near-term stock driver. Article Link
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street analyst coverage remains broadly optimistic, with multiple articles noting favorable average brokerage recommendations, though these do not always translate into reliable signals. Article Link
• Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry disclosed a first-ever short position in Caterpillar, arguing the stock’s AI-linked rally may have stretched valuation too far; that news is likely the main source of pressure on shares today. Article Link

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price objective on Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $1,165.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $949.41.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2%

Caterpillar stock opened at $965.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $444.67 billion, a PE ratio of 48.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $388.09 and a fifty-two week high of $1,073.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $918.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $769.03.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,631,913.85. The trade was a 22.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the sale, the insider 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. Insiders sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company 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.