Americana Partners LLC Buys 3,880 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Americana Partners LLC increased its Caterpillar stake by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,880 shares and bringing its total holdings to 35,218 shares worth about $20.2 million.
• Caterpillar reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $5.54 beating estimates and revenue of $17.42 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 22.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating listed as Moderate Buy, while institutional ownership remains high at 70.98%.

Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted 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 worth $861,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,087 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted 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 worth $1,695,757,000 after acquiring an additional 609,023 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted 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 worth $1,176,870,000 after acquiring an additional 464,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $26,572,681,000 after acquiring an additional 442,164 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar News Summary

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 Stock Performance

Shares of 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $791.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $690.84. The firm has a market cap of $405.42 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.63. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.25 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. The trade was a 22.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total value of $326,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $480,180. This trade represents a 40.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 100,551 shares of company stock worth $91,170,351. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $960.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $923.14.

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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