Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stock Holdings Decreased by LS Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• LS Investment Advisors LLC cut its Caterpillar stake by 5.9% in Q4 to 33,030 shares (worth $18.92M), making CAT its 10th‑largest position and ~2.7% of the firm's holdings.
• Insiders sold heavily: CEO Joseph Creed and other insiders disposed of shares (including 2,500 and 7,891 shares respectively), with total insider sales of 125,950 shares worth about $88.58M over the last three months (insider ownership ~0.33%).
• Fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain supportive: Caterpillar beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates, several brokers raised price targets and the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $751.45 target while the stock trades near its 52‑week high and yields ~0.8%.

LS Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,030 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,072 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises approximately 2.7% of LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 35,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,222,221.19. This represents a 6.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 7,891 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.90, for a total value of $6,130,517.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,236,946.70. This represents a 14.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 125,950 shares of company stock worth $88,577,390. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $769.87 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $282.46 and a 52 week high of $798.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $731.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $630.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.52.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is 32.09%.

More Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi, Jefferies and Oppenheimer raised price targets and reiterated buy/outperform views, supporting longer‑term upside expectations for CAT shares. Citigroup Increases Caterpillar Price Target Jefferies Raises Target to $900 Oppenheimer Raises Target to $832
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain strong — recent quarterly results beat estimates, revenue and backlog growth are supportive, which analysts cite when lifting targets. Investors Heavily Search Caterpillar
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar is pursuing technology acquisitions (AI/autonomy for off‑road vehicles) to accelerate electrification and autonomy — strategically positive but brings integration risk and unclear near‑term returns. Caterpillar buys little-known AI startup
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar is going ex‑dividend soon, a near‑term catalyst for yield‑focused investors but not a major directional driver for valuation. Dividend Article
• Negative Sentiment: Caterpillar acquired Monarch Tractor assets after the startup collapsed amid dealer and technology problems — investors may view this as buying distressed tech with execution risk, which likely contributed to selling today. Monarch Tractor Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Some sell‑side and model‑based commentary warns much of 2025’s gains are priced in (limited upside vs. current levels), prompting profit‑taking and weighing on the stock. 24/7 Wall St. Valuation Note
• Negative Sentiment: Market‑wide moves and short‑term investor reaction to the tech‑acquisition headlines have triggered intraday selling pressure; that broad positioning change amplified the decline. CAT Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $785.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Caterpillar from $625.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $751.45.

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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