Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Holdings Lowered by S&CO Inc.

S&CO Inc. cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 98,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,569 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises about 4.3% of S&CO Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $70,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 82.1% in the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,789.82. The trade was a 37.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE CAT opened at $881.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $405.46 and a 52-week high of $1,073.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $931.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $793.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,103.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price target on Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $980.57.

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.