Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock: Insider James Fish, Jr. Acquires 1,000 Shares

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Director James Fish, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $620.39 per share, with a total value of $620,390.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,924,518.46. This represents a 26.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Caterpillar Trading Down 5.2%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $591.34 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $537.08 and a 12-month high of $1,073.46. The company has a market cap of $271.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $770.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $807.05.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.76 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 59.87%. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.62 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, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $749.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $950.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,027.00 target price (down from $1,100.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $898.25.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar reported a record $78 billion backlog and is expanding engine and turbine capacity to serve surging data-center power demand—an important growth opportunity. Article: CAT Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Record Backlog and Capacity Push
• Positive Sentiment: Director James Fish bought 1,000 shares for about $620,000, increasing his stake by nearly 27%; the insider purchase may indicate confidence in the company. Article: Caterpillar Director Purchases Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar completed its acquisition of Fabick Cat, a regional dealership. The deal expands its dealer operations, but the articles provide no estimate of its near-term financial impact. Article: Caterpillar Completes Fabick Cat Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target by 26% after earnings, citing falling orders and dealers trimming inventory. The firm sees the stock facing a more cyclical test after its AI-related rally. Article: Morgan Stanley Cuts Caterpillar Stock Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Despite robust demand, tariffs, manufacturing costs and production constraints are pressuring margins and limiting how quickly Caterpillar can fulfill its backlog. Article: Caterpillar Backlog Meets Capacity Constraints
• Negative Sentiment: One report attributed weakness partly to a broader pullback in AI-linked stocks following the U.S. election, noting Caterpillar was being traded as an AI-power beneficiary despite no company-specific news. Article: Caterpillar Sinks as Investors Reassess AI Trade

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,457,153,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,276,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,120,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,356 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,818,150,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,192,710,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,783,451,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a manufacturer of construction, mining, and industrial equipment. Its product portfolio includes excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, motor graders, articulated trucks, and other machinery used in construction, infrastructure development, mining, quarrying, forestry, and related industries. The company also produces diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, generator sets, and other power-generation and transportation equipment.

Caterpillar operates through businesses focused on construction industries, resource industries, and energy and transportation.