Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,513 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,513 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for about 0.8% of Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $44,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 108.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,551,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the second quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Caterpillar News

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)

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,574,954.83. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,450 shares of company stock worth $98,245,065. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $766.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $356.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $660.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $559.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $729.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on Caterpillar from $735.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $729.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $712.52.

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.