AdvisorShares Investments LLC Makes New $501,000 Investment in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,165,899,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,851.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,830,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,631 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Caterpillar by 425.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,738,000 after buying an additional 616,739 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Caterpillar by 20.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,757,000 after buying an additional 609,023 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36.9% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,777,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $848,177,000 after buying an additional 478,972 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 112,563 shares of company stock worth $73,657,655. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $729.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $690.90.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $726.38 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $727.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $617.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $530.49. The firm has a market cap of $339.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 32.09%.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and revenue/backlog strength — CAT reported revenue and EPS above expectations and highlighted a record backlog that supports near‑term revenue visibility. Zacks: Post Q4 analysis
• Positive Sentiment: AI / data‑center tailwind — Coverage highlights growing demand for power and infrastructure tied to AI data‑center buildouts, which is a new revenue catalyst beyond traditional equipment cycles. Yahoo: AI data centers
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade & higher price target — HSBC raised its CAT target to $850 and maintained a buy rating, adding upward pressure to the stock. MarketScreener: HSBC PT raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Market momentum helped lift the name — CAT was one of the contributors to the Dow’s rally today, so some of the move is broad market/sector strength rather than company‑specific news. MSN: Dow soars
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — Multiple writeups note that CAT’s rerating has pushed valuation to a premium, framing risk/reward even as fundamentals improve. This shapes investor caution but doesn’t change the underlying backlog/earnings. MarketBeat: Valuation piece
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling — Several senior insiders disclosed multi‑million dollar stock sales (e.g., Denise C. Johnson, Bob De Lange), which can signal profit‑taking and may create short‑term selling pressure. InsiderTrades: Insider sales
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution on pace of growth — CFRA and others warn that while financials are strong, underlying growth may not be fast enough to justify some of the recent extreme share‑price moves; that comment tempers the rally. YouTube: CFRA caution

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.