Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 81,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,844 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up approximately 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $38,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in Caterpillar by 82.0% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after purchasing an additional 12,278 shares during the period. Trivium Point Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% in the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 155.9% during the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,014,000 after buying an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,884,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $757,047.06. This trade represents a 47.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,729 shares of company stock worth $31,084,308. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 target price (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $620.20.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on CAT to $740 from $730 and reiterated an “overweight” rating, implying roughly a mid-teens upside vs. recent levels — a clear buy-side signal that can support near-term inflows. JPMorgan raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s market capitalization topped $300 billion amid an AI-driven rally, a sign investors are attributing incremental growth/efficiency or multiple expansion to AI exposure — this momentum can attract momentum traders and ETFs. Caterpillar Crosses $300 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: A bullish thesis piece summarizes upside drivers for CAT (valuation, services, AI/automation tailwinds). It reinforces positive narratives but is an opinion piece rather than company disclosure. Bull Case Theory
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar announced a planned leadership transition in Construction Industries: long-time group president Tony Fassino will retire May 31, 2026, with internal successor Rod Shurman named effective Feb. 1 — an orderly, internal promotion that suggests continuity rather than disruption. Leadership Transition
• Negative Sentiment: Be aware of ticker confusion: a separate small-cap miner, CAT Strategic Metals (ticker CAT on other exchanges), announced an REE project MOU — unrelated to Caterpillar Inc. Misreading that news could create noisy, misleading headlines for retail investors. CAT Strategic Metals MOU

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.3%

CAT stock opened at $638.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $583.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.29. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $644.59. The company has a market cap of $298.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 31.01%.

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.