Electron Capital Partners LLC Takes $42.83 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Electron Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 74,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,828,000. Caterpillar makes up about 2.0% of Electron Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $26,572,681,000 after buying an additional 442,164 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,273,039,000 after acquiring an additional 385,204 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,072,572,000 after acquiring an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after purchasing an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Caterpillar to $1,165 from $1,125 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s upside. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighted Caterpillar as a blue-chip stock to own, helped by bullish market momentum as the Dow reached a new milestone. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar recently increased its dividend, reinforcing management’s confidence in cash generation and making the stock more attractive to income investors. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage also pointed to Caterpillar’s improving growth story, including a large AI-related backlog and rising demand in its power generation business, which supports a stronger long-term outlook. Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market recap pieces noted Caterpillar’s gains were helping lift the Dow to record highs, but these articles were more about broad index performance than a new company-specific catalyst. MSN

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total value of $4,982,055.26. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,789.82. This trade represents a 37.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $980.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $935.09.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $955.17 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $865.45 and its 200-day moving average is $735.73. 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 $439.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.59. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $356.96 and a fifty-two week high of $975.64.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

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.