Lange Bob De Sells 16,070 Shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Lange Bob De sold 16,070 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $704.97, for a total value of $11,328,867.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 79,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,364,466.41. This represents a 16.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lange Bob De also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, February 2nd, Lange Bob De sold 15,977 shares of Caterpillar stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $682.99, for a total transaction of $10,912,131.23.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $726.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $339.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.58. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $727.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $617.15 and its 200-day moving average is $528.99. 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 results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $678.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $708.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $690.90.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after buying an additional 442,164 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,656,286,000 after purchasing an additional 208,196 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,165,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,494,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 20.7% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 609,023 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

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.