Altshuler Shaham Ltd Raises Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 60.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings expectations are supportive. Zacks upgraded Caterpillar to Rank #2 (Buy), citing improving earnings prospects. The company is also viewed as having two factors that could support a quarterly earnings beat ahead of next week’s report. Caterpillar Earnings Expected to Grow
• Positive Sentiment: Strong recent fundamentals provide a cushion. Caterpillar’s latest reported quarter exceeded consensus estimates, with revenue rising 22.2% year over year and earnings per share reaching $5.54 versus the expected $4.65. Investors may be looking for this momentum to continue in the upcoming release.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains high. Caterpillar is a heavily watched industrial stock, and analysts and investors are debating whether its powerful multiyear rally can continue. The company’s shares have gained substantially over five years, raising the importance of future earnings and cash-flow growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation may be limiting further upside. Fair-value analysis is mixed: earnings multiples appear relatively reasonable, while a discounted-cash-flow estimate suggests the stock is approximately fairly valued. After its extended rally, the shares face a higher hurdle to justify additional gains. Caterpillar Stock Looks Slightly Above Fair Value
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst sentiment has softened. Erste Group Bank AG downgraded Caterpillar from “buy” to “hold,” adding pressure to the stock’s near-term outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Rare-earth supply risks could increase costs or disrupt production. China’s tighter export controls on rare-earth materials used in motors, sensors and control systems may affect Caterpillar’s advanced equipment and force manufacturers to secure more expensive alternative supplies. Caterpillar Faces Rare Earth Squeeze

Caterpillar Trading Down 3.6%

Caterpillar stock opened at $841.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $928.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $808.93. The company has a market capitalization of $387.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $405.46 and a 52 week high of $1,073.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 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 given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 32.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Caterpillar from $980.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $980.57.

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.

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