Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Purchased by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise raised its stake in Caterpillar by 82.0% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after buying an additional 12,278 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 155.9% during the 3rd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,014,000 after buying an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 149.6% during the 3rd quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,884,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and revenue/backlog strength — CAT reported revenue and EPS above expectations and highlighted a record backlog that supports near‑term revenue visibility. Zacks: Post Q4 analysis
• Positive Sentiment: AI / data‑center tailwind — Coverage highlights growing demand for power and infrastructure tied to AI data‑center buildouts, which is a new revenue catalyst beyond traditional equipment cycles. Yahoo: AI data centers
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade & higher price target — HSBC raised its CAT target to $850 and maintained a buy rating, adding upward pressure to the stock. MarketScreener: HSBC PT raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Market momentum helped lift the name — CAT was one of the contributors to the Dow’s rally today, so some of the move is broad market/sector strength rather than company‑specific news. MSN: Dow soars
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — Multiple writeups note that CAT’s rerating has pushed valuation to a premium, framing risk/reward even as fundamentals improve. This shapes investor caution but doesn’t change the underlying backlog/earnings. MarketBeat: Valuation piece
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Several senior insiders disclosed multi‑million dollar stock sales (e.g., Denise C. Johnson, Bob De Lange), which can signal profit‑taking and may create short‑term selling pressure. InsiderTrades: Insider sales
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution on pace of growth — CFRA and others warn that while financials are strong, underlying growth may not be fast enough to justify some of the recent extreme share‑price moves; that comment tempers the rally. YouTube: CFRA caution

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $726.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $727.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $617.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $529.77. The company has a market capitalization of $339.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Wall Street Zen raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Argus increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $708.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $678.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $710.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $690.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 16,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.97, for a total transaction of $11,328,867.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,364,466.41. This represents a 16.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 120,747 shares of company stock worth $78,324,008 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.