Associated Banc Corp Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 779 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $23,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.3% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $8,893,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,053,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares in the last quarter. Juno Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $877,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 73,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,023,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $880.23 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $336.24 and a twelve month high of $931.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $791.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $690.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.42 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.63. 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 announced 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 return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The company had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson raised their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $923.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at $45,236,615.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 100,551 shares of company stock worth $91,170,351 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s Power & Energy business is being highlighted as a major growth opportunity, with rising backlog, capacity expansion, and demand from AI data centers supporting the company’s longer-term targets. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage is reinforcing Caterpillar as a “power infrastructure play,” helped by a strategic framework agreement tied to up to 2.1 gigawatts of incremental power-generation assets, which suggests additional demand beyond its core construction and mining equipment businesses. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar was also mentioned among the stocks helping drive a strong Dow rally, indicating broader investor demand for the name during today’s market advance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar was included in a hedge-fund stock screen, which may reflect institutional interest, but the item did not add a clear new catalyst by itself. Article Title

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.