Bank of America Corp DE Has $4.02 Billion Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,677,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,061,224 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,022,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 52,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,222,000 after acquiring an additional 23,467 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.7% in the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,252,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $246,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 116.7% during the first quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 9,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,596,000 after purchasing an additional 5,014 shares during the period. Finally, Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $830,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar announced an investment of up to $10 million in Illinois as part of its five-year, $100 million workforce initiative. The program will support training and recruitment for manufacturing and industrial technician jobs, potentially strengthening the company’s long-term labor pipeline. Caterpillar Invests in the Future of Manufacturing Talent in Illinois
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and market commentators remain constructive ahead of Caterpillar’s upcoming earnings report. Zacks upgraded the stock to a Rank #2, citing improving earnings prospects and the potential for an earnings beat. What Makes Caterpillar a New Buy Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar is scheduled to be among next week’s closely watched earnings reports. Investors will focus on order trends, demand, margins, tariffs and whether data-center-related generator sales can offset broader concerns. The Week Ahead: Jobs Data, Top 10 Earnings Reports to Watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights Caterpillar’s exposure to technology companies building artificial-intelligence data centers, where its generators can provide backup power and speed construction timelines. Satya Nadella’s Microsoft Needs Power. Joe Creed’s Caterpillar Sells It.
• Negative Sentiment: Baird downgraded CAT to Hold from Buy and cut its price target by $300 to $900. Analyst Mig Dobre cited growing public and political backlash against data-center construction, raising concerns about the durability of AI-related demand that has helped support the stock’s rally. Caterpillar Is Downgraded on Growing Data Center Buildout Backlash
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are amplifying the downgrade. Commentary noted that Caterpillar trades at a substantial premium to its historical valuation, leaving less room for disappointment if growth expectations or data-center spending cool. Caterpillar Trades at Three Times Its Historical Multiple
• Negative Sentiment: Additional risks include possible supply-chain pressure from China’s rare-earth export restrictions, which could raise costs or complicate sourcing of components used in advanced equipment. Caterpillar Faces Rare Earth Squeeze

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,631,913.85. The trade was a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $782.32 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $405.46 and a 1 year high of $1,073.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $926.90 and a 200-day moving average of $810.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid 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 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $1,043.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $980.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price objective on Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $966.29.

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.