Hardy Reed LLC Purchases New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Hardy Reed LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,662,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,273,039,000 after buying an additional 385,204 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 94,524 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $5,438,408,000 after acquiring an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Caterpillar by 16.0% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 928,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,140,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,224,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,020 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar plans to invest approximately $890 million in its Indiana facility, supporting longer-term production capacity, regional employment and potential demand for its equipment. Caterpillar planning $890M investment in Indiana plant
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis highlights a substantial increase in Caterpillar’s order volume and a record backlog, suggesting future revenue visibility even though reported revenue has faced pressure. This supports the bullish case for CAT’s cyclical recovery. Before The Surge, Caterpillar Stock’s Order Book Told a Different Story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts favor CAT over Deere in the heavy-equipment sector, citing Caterpillar’s record sales, backlog and earnings growth. Another investment article lists CAT as a way to gain exposure to infrastructure spending and broader capital investment. Caterpillar vs. Deere
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation commentary argues CAT could be undervalued by roughly 20% if its margin and cash-flow strength, backlog and upgraded outlook are sustained. The Gates Foundation Trust’s reported ownership also provides a notable institutional-ownership signal. Caterpillar Could Be 20% Undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: A covered-call strategy is presented as a way to generate potentially 12% annualized income while waiting through a slowdown, though selling calls would cap upside if CAT rallies sharply. Can CAT Stock Yield 12% Annualized Income?
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar is beginning renovations at office space in Irving, Texas. The move is operationally relevant but unlikely to materially change near-term earnings expectations. Caterpillar set to begin renovation of Irving office space
• Negative Sentiment: A worker injury at Caterpillar’s Mapleton facility introduces potential safety, regulatory and operational concerns, although the available report provides limited details on the incident. Worker injured at Caterpillar Mapleton facility
• Negative Sentiment: CAT’s premium valuation leaves less room for disappointment, while Michael Burry’s disclosed short position and discussion of a possible slowdown may add volatility. Separate analysis sees only about 4% upside from tariff-refund developments, suggesting limited near-term valuation support. Caterpillar Stock May Be 4% Undervalued

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $1,002.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 target price on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,118.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $845.00 to $882.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $995.52.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4%

CAT opened at $822.44 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $901.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $836.76. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $410.52 and a 52 week high of $1,073.46. The company has a market capitalization of $378.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

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.