ING Groep NV Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,526 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $38,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Invst LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,591,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. KDT Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar is benefiting from strong demand tied to data center construction and rising power needs, with coverage highlighting record quarterly results and improving sentiment around its power and energy business. Data Center Power Demands Push This Dividend Aristocrat to All Time Highs
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain constructive on Caterpillar’s growth outlook, citing durable tailwinds from AI-related infrastructure spending and a bullish price target in the latest research note. Caterpillar Setting The Pace For Growth In Power And Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Trump administration tariff cuts on farm and construction equipment are being viewed as a margin boost for Caterpillar’s core products, which could support earnings and sentiment. Trump Just Gave Caterpillar Stock a Boost. What to Know.
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coverage framed Caterpillar as one of the stocks poised to benefit from lower equipment tariffs, reinforcing the recent bullish narrative. When Trump Cuts Tariffs on Farm and Construction Equipment, These 5 Stocks Win Big
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles were more general or commentary-driven, including a decade-long return retrospective and broader construction-stocks roundups, so they are less likely to move the shares directly. If You Invested $1000 in Caterpillar a Decade Ago, This is How Much It’d Be Worth Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Non-fundamental items such as an unrelated garden-caterpillar story and a political donation tracker do not appear to have a direct impact on Caterpillar’s business outlook. New caterpillar that can ‘send you to A&E’ breeding rapidly in gardens

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,103.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $933.27.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $904.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $831.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $714.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $352.26 and a 1 year high of $946.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $416.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total transaction of $326,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $480,180. The trade was a 40.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.