Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stake Boosted by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management sharply increased its Caterpillar stake by 945.2% in the first quarter, ending with 18,365 shares valued at about $13.0 million.
• Caterpillar reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $5.54 versus $4.65 expected and revenue of $17.41 billion, up 22.2% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.63 per share from $1.51, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and a price target of about $980.57.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 945.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,365 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,608 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% in the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total value of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.1%

CAT stock opened at $881.26 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $931.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $794.97. The company has a market capitalization of $405.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 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 current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 30.06%.

Key Caterpillar News

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $1,043.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. HSBC increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $980.57.

About Caterpillar

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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