Waycross Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Waycross Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 1,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the first quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sylvest Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.6% in the first quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC now owns 377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst updates turned incrementally more optimistic on Caterpillar’s earnings outlook, with Erste Group Bank and Zacks Research lifting FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and several quarterly EPS estimates. Higher profit expectations can support the stock by reinforcing the view that CAT’s long-term demand and pricing power remain solid.
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentary pieces highlighted Caterpillar as a leading industrial and equipment name versus peers like Volvo, citing stronger earnings momentum, rising estimates, and long-term growth tied to infrastructure, electrification, automation, and AI data-center buildout demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage noted Wall Street is expecting Caterpillar’s upcoming Q2 2026 report to show another double-digit profit increase, which keeps investor attention focused on whether results can justify the stock’s premium valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Caterpillar as a high-quality company with a strong brand and global dealer network, but also warned that the valuation looks rich. That limits near-term upside unless earnings growth continues to outpace expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Caterpillar was also mentioned in broader market weakness and “AI selloff” coverage, and Zacks Research downgraded the stock from strong-buy to hold. That suggests some investors are becoming more cautious after the recent run-up.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,043.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Argus increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $980.57.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $881.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $405.46 and a 12 month high of $1,073.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $931.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $794.97. The company has a market cap of $405.90 billion, a PE ratio of 43.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total value of $14,928,254.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.