Friday Financial Sells 595 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Friday Financial decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 66.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 595 shares during the quarter. Friday Financial’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 11,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,873,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 10,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,695,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $209,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,020.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $995.52.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI data-center demand is emerging as a major growth driver. Caterpillar is expanding power-generation capacity to supply electricity for power-intensive hyperscale data centers. Jim Cramer highlighted the company’s generators as a key reason CAT has outperformed Deere, while other coverage described the AI infrastructure opportunity as still in its early stages. Jim Cramer Shares Key Reason Why Caterpillar’s Shares Are Higher Than Deere’s CAT Stock Alert: Caterpillar’s AI Infrastructure Boom Is Just Getting Started
• Positive Sentiment: A new hyperscaler infrastructure agreement reinforces the opportunity. Energy Vault announced a planned 1.25-gigawatt deployment of integrated power infrastructure for an AI data center, using Caterpillar generator sets through a power-generation engineering, procurement and construction partner. The agreement provides additional evidence that CAT’s energy products can benefit from data-center construction. Energy Vault Announces Strategic Agreement for Hyperscaler AI Data Center Infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings and guidance remain powerful catalysts. Caterpillar reported quarterly EPS of $8.17 versus the $6.22 consensus and revenue of $20.54 billion versus expectations of $19.34 billion. Revenue increased 23.7% year over year, and the company raised its 2026 sales-growth outlook as AI-related construction demand continued. Caterpillar Lifts 2026 Sales Growth Forecast as AI Buildout Powers On
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is supportive but not uniformly aggressive: Caterpillar carries an average “Moderate Buy” rating, and Truist expects further upside. Coverage also notes CAT has outperformed industrial-products peers this year, although much of that optimism may already be reflected in the share price. Caterpillar Receives Moderate Buy Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and valuation are weighing on the stock. CAT has more than doubled from its 12-month low and trades at roughly 36 times earnings, leaving investors vulnerable to consolidation after the post-earnings surge. A pullback after the rally may therefore reflect high expectations rather than a new negative company announcement.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $844.52 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $921.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $820.36. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $405.46 and a 12-month high of $1,073.46. The firm has a market cap of $388.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.34, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%.The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 26.3 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total transaction of $326,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $480,180. This represents a 40.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 19,161 shares of company stock valued at $17,407,424 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.