West Branch Capital LLC Purchases 1,364 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 324.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the quarter. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $717.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $713.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $610.90. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $789.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $677.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $640.00 to $790.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $737.55.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple quarterly and multi‑year EPS forecasts for CAT (including Q2‑2026, Q3‑2026, FY‑2026, FY‑2027 and FY‑2028), implying stronger forward earnings growth and supporting bullish investor expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research raised its price target to $750 and maintained an Outperform rating; an analyst upgrade earlier this week also sparked intraday buying. Wolfe Research PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays bumped its target to $700 but kept an Equal‑Weight rating — less bullish than Wolfe and suggests limited near‑term upside from that shop. Barclays PT Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar plans to add ~200 jobs at its Victoria, Texas facility — positive for capacity and local execution but modest for consolidated revenue/profit impact. Victoria Jobs Article
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Joe Creed was named chairman following Jim Umpleby’s retirement — a governance change investors will watch but not an immediate earnings driver. Chairman Appointment
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. senators have called for a review of heavy‑equipment imports from Mexico; a finding could trigger tariffs or restrictions that would hurt margins and cross‑border supply chains given CAT’s Mexican manufacturing footprint. That headline is a key near‑term negative catalyst. Mexico Import Review
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary highlights heavy insider selling over recent months (numerous executive share sales), which can feed profit‑taking or caution among some investors. Insider Trading Summary

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. The trade was a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total value of $26,656,109.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares in the company, valued at $29,524,818. The trade was a 47.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 125,950 shares of company stock worth $88,577,390 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.