Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by First Business Financial Services Inc.

First Business Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 95.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,995 shares during the quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,494,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 573.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $861,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,087 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 20.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,695,757,000 after purchasing an additional 609,023 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 24.3% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,375,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,176,870,000 after acquiring an additional 464,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,572,681,000 after acquiring an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $790.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $960.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $860.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $923.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were 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. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 100,551 shares of company stock valued at $91,170,351. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $859.90 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $336.24 and a 1-year high of $931.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $781.90 and a 200-day moving average of $685.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $396.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.80, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.63.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Caterpillar News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Zacks Research notes raised Caterpillar’s earnings estimates across several periods, including FY2026, FY2027, and FY2028, signaling confidence that profit growth can stay strong well beyond this year. MarketBeat CAT earnings estimate updates
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also reset Caterpillar’s fair value higher and cited higher price targets and an upgrade, suggesting the stock may still have room to re-rate as investors assign a richer multiple to its earnings and growth outlook. Yahoo Finance analyst valuation article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Caterpillar as a long-term winner because of rising revenues, stronger earnings growth versus peers like Deere, and exposure to AI infrastructure and heavy equipment demand. Zacks Caterpillar vs. Deere article
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention has picked up around CAT, with multiple articles framing it as a prominent industrial and AI-infrastructure name, but these pieces are more about visibility than a new catalyst. Yahoo Finance investor attention article
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted tariff and workforce concerns, which could pressure margins or complicate the operating outlook even as sentiment remains constructive overall. MSN tariff/workforce article

Caterpillar 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.