Zhang Financial LLC Acquires 856 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Zhang Financial LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth $19,072,000. FSA Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 271.7% in the first quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. now owns 1,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Future Fund LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 40.8% in the first quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $639,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst updates turned incrementally more optimistic on Caterpillar’s earnings outlook, with Erste Group Bank and Zacks Research lifting FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and several quarterly EPS estimates. Higher profit expectations can support the stock by reinforcing the view that CAT’s long-term demand and pricing power remain solid.
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentary pieces highlighted Caterpillar as a leading industrial and equipment name versus peers like Volvo, citing stronger earnings momentum, rising estimates, and long-term growth tied to infrastructure, electrification, automation, and AI data-center buildout demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage noted Wall Street is expecting Caterpillar’s upcoming Q2 2026 report to show another double-digit profit increase, which keeps investor attention focused on whether results can justify the stock’s premium valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Caterpillar as a high-quality company with a strong brand and global dealer network, but also warned that the valuation looks rich. That limits near-term upside unless earnings growth continues to outpace expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Caterpillar was also mentioned in broader market weakness and “AI selloff” coverage, and Zacks Research downgraded the stock from strong-buy to hold. That suggests some investors are becoming more cautious after the recent run-up.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $1,020.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,103.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $980.57.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $881.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $931.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $793.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $405.46 and a 1 year high of $1,073.46. The firm has a market cap of $405.90 billion, a PE ratio of 43.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

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.