US Bancorp DE Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

US Bancorp DE decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 506,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,529 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.11% of Caterpillar worth $241,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 107.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 89 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $729.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $710.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $712.52.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $766.15 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $660.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $559.89. The stock has a market cap of $356.48 billion, a PE ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.58. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $789.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th were paid 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 0.8%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,001,197.95. The trade was a 20.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Rodney Michael Shurman sold 2,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $759.61, for a total transaction of $1,730,391.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,443 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,117.23. This represents a 61.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 143,450 shares of company stock worth $98,245,065 over the last ninety days. 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: Wall Street lifts targets — Wells Fargo raised its CAT price target to $870 (overweight) and Daiwa boosted its target to $790, signaling stronger analyst conviction that Caterpillar can capture continued demand. Wells Fargo price target rise Daiwa price target rise
• Positive Sentiment: AI/data‑center capex tailwind — Strategists are positioning CAT as a “HALO” (Hard Asset, Low Obsolescence) play to benefit from $+600B of data center and AI buildout: demand for heavy equipment to construct large facilities supports longer-term machinery orders. Strategist sees Deere, Caterpillar as low-volatility AI plays
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic venture investing — Caterpillar Venture Capital backed ElevenEs’ Series B first closing, reflecting CAT’s push into adjacent tech/commodity-trading solutions that could broaden revenue streams over time. ElevenEs Series B closing backed by Caterpillar Venture Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Buildout of services and software — Caterpillar acquired RPMGlobal (mining software) and is rolling out a redesigned rental management experience, both moves that expand higher‑margin, recurring services and digital offerings. Caterpillar Acquired RPMGlobal Caterpillar to launch redesigned rental management experience
• Neutral Sentiment: PR and workforce focus — Caterpillar hosted its Global Technician Finals in Peoria (skills/brand positive but limited direct EPS impact). Caterpillar hosts its Global Technician Finals in Peoria
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative industry coverage — Pieces contrasting Caterpillar and Deere highlight divergent earnings narratives; useful context for relative positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Caterpillar vs Deere article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and option activity — Director/officer Rodney Shurman disclosed sales (and option exercises reported separately), reducing his stake materially; investors often view repeated insider sales as a modest near‑term negative. Rodney Michael Shurman insider sale Insider exercises options
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jump — Short interest rose ~61% in February to ~10M shares (2.2% of float). While still a small share of float, the spike increases volatility and could weigh on near‑term sentiment. (Data source: short interest release)

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.