Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Price Up 3.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) were up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $760.00 to $785.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Caterpillar traded as high as $708.63 and last traded at $704.0980. Approximately 3,576,452 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 20% from the average daily volume of 2,986,259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $680.90.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 price target on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. HSBC raised their target price on Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $726.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 7,891 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $776.90, for a total transaction of $6,130,517.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,236,946.70. This trade represents a 14.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 35,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,222,221.19. This represents a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $785 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying further upside and lending institutional support to the rally. Benzinga MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Additional sell‑side coverage shows even higher targets reported (American Banking News tracking $817 and $825 targets), reinforcing the view of continued upside from analysts. Price Target $817 Price Target $825
• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation: Caterpillar unveiled its heaviest electric‑drive dozer, highlighting progress on electrification and potential differentiation in large-equipment EVs. That supports long-term demand and ESG/energy-transition narratives. Electrek
• Positive Sentiment: Technology/AI momentum: Caterpillar is using CONEXPO 2026 to showcase AI-driven jobsite solutions (autonomy, fleet management, AI command centers), which supports a re-rating toward software/digital recurring revenue expectations. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: Independent bullish coverage: The Motley Fool pieces highlighting “3 reasons to buy” and framing Caterpillar as exposed to AI/power demand add retail investor interest and narrative support for longer-term growth. Fool — 3 Reasons Fool — AI Play
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Market Edge highlighted CAT alongside other names; this brings additional visibility but is not a direct catalyst. Zacks/Yahoo
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: the CEO sold roughly $1.8M in stock, an action that prompted earlier intraday weakness and can create short‑term selling pressure or investor concern about timing. AmericanBankingNews — Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Earlier reporting noted a temporary pullback tied to that insider sale (coverage: “Trading Down 3.5% Following Insider Selling”), underscoring that insider transactions can mute rallies even amid positive analyst action. AmericanBankingNews — Trading Down

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 563,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $322,828,000 after acquiring an additional 210,563 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $866,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,012,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,204,000 after purchasing an additional 79,004 shares during the last quarter. Storen Legacy Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $253,000. Finally, Bayban purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $956,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $681.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $576.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $327.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.14 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

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.