OLD Republic International Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

OLD Republic International Corp cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 51.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 91,500 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 2.0% of OLD Republic International Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. OLD Republic International Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $48,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,494,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,098,964 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 573.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $861,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,087 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 609,023 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 24.3% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,375,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,176,870,000 after acquiring an additional 464,036 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after acquiring an additional 442,164 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,551 shares of company stock valued at $91,170,351. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 target price on Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $860.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. 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. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $923.14.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s Power & Energy business is being highlighted as a major growth opportunity, with rising backlog, capacity expansion, and demand from AI data centers supporting the company’s longer-term targets. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage is reinforcing Caterpillar as a “power infrastructure play,” helped by a strategic framework agreement tied to up to 2.1 gigawatts of incremental power-generation assets, which suggests additional demand beyond its core construction and mining equipment businesses. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar was also mentioned among the stocks helping drive a strong Dow rally, indicating broader investor demand for the name during today’s market advance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar was included in a hedge-fund stock screen, which may reflect institutional interest, but the item did not add a clear new catalyst by itself. Article Title

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $880.23 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $336.24 and a 52 week high of $931.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $791.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $690.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.42 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.63.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.06%.

Caterpillar 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.