Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) CEO Joseph Creed Sells 2,500 Shares

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) CEO Joseph Creed sold 2,500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 35,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,222,221.19. The trade was a 6.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Caterpillar Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $681.31 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $789.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $681.47 and a 200-day moving average of $574.20. The company has a market capitalization of $317.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $678.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $724.81.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price?target upgrades from Jefferies and Oppenheimer lift longer?term outlooks — Jefferies raised its target to $825 and Oppenheimer to $817, both keeping buy/outperform views, signaling near?20% upside versus current levels. Jefferies Adjusts Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive: Caterpillar beat revenue and EPS expectations in its last report (strong margins and revenue growth), which underpins analyst bullishness and medium?term earnings expectations. Analyst Upgrade Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Joseph Creed sold 2,500 shares (filed with the SEC), a small reduction in insider holdings that may be interpreted as routine liquidity rather than a signal of deteriorating fundamentals. SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive PR and brand buzz from a viral AI image and Caterpillar’s real pickup concept give the company free publicity and may support equipment?brand equity, but have limited immediate revenue impact. Caterpillar Built a Yellow Pickup
• Negative Sentiment: Large intraday losses in CAT helped drive sharp Dow declines and reflect heavy profit?taking and macro risk sentiment; that market stress is the main reason the stock is down today. Dow Falls Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary on valuation labels Caterpillar as a high?quality but highly valued cyclical, which could amplify downside if macro or industrial demand weakens. Valuation Critique
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage noting the stock’s day?over?day dip highlights short?term momentum weakness and heavier intraday volume, contributing to negative price action. Why CAT Dipped

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.