Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $1.33 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 116.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of CAT opened at $695.49 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $708.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $605.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $323.61 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.53. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $789.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 35,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,222,221.19. The trade was a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 972 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.20, for a total transaction of $742,802.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 824 shares in the company, valued at $629,700.80. This represents a 54.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group nudged up its profit forecasts — the bank raised FY2027 EPS to $27.95 (from $27.65) and slightly lifted FY2026 to $22.70, both well above the street consensus of ~$19.86. This supports a stronger earnings outlook for CAT. Erste Group raises EPS estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Deal and growth coverage — coverage of Caterpillar supplying power‑generation equipment to Atlas Energy and its role in powering Nscale’s AI compute campus highlights revenue diversification and exposure to AI/energy demand, but analysts are mixed on near-term financial impact and timing. Analysts mixed on Atlas Energy agreement Caterpillar and Nscale AI campus
• Neutral Sentiment: Community & STEM initiatives may support brand and hiring but have limited direct near‑term financial impact (Alvernia collaboration; Goodwill Arkansas funding). Alvernia partnership Goodwill Arkansas funding
• Negative Sentiment: Heightened legal risk — Caterpillar has countersued Bobcat (Doosan Bobcat) over alleged patent infringement and has accused the rival of industrial espionage; litigation can lead to legal costs, injunction risk or distraction. Reuters: Caterpillar countersues Bobcat ENR: alleges industrial espionage
• Negative Sentiment: Divestment headline — Washington state sold off ~$62M of Caterpillar bonds amid activist pressure; public-sector divestment can dent sentiment and signal ESG-related investor risk. WA sells Caterpillar bonds
• Negative Sentiment: Market/sector selloff — Caterpillar was mentioned among stocks that weighed on the Dow amid a near‑350 point decline, so broad risk‑off flows likely pressured the share price alongside company‑specific headlines. Market drop including CAT

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $678.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $729.00 to $817.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $730.50.

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.