Farther Finance Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 66.0%, buying an additional 12,600 shares to hold 31,684 shares worth about $18.15 million, while overall institutional investors own roughly 70.98% of the stock.
• Caterpillar beat Q4 expectations with EPS $5.16 vs. $4.67 and revenue of $19.13B (up 17.9% YoY), and analysts remain broadly positive—MarketBeat shows a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average target near $747 with several firms raising targets above current levels.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share (annualized $6.04; yield ~0.8%; ex-dividend April 20), while insiders sold a total of 125,950 shares worth about $88.6 million in the last quarter.

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 66.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,600 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 681 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. KWB Wealth raised its position in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 549 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC now owns 591 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthShield Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the third quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $678.00 to $769.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $747.14.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of CAT opened at $794.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $730.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $630.00. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $282.46 and a 1-year high of $798.54. The stock has a market cap of $369.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.52.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.14 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 79,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,574,954.83. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 972 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.20, for a total transaction of $742,802.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $629,700.80. The trade was a 54.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 125,950 shares of company stock worth $88,577,390 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management reviewed strong Q4 results on the earnings call and reiterated healthy demand and backlog trends that supported the quarter’s revenue and EPS beat — a key driver for the rally. Caterpillar Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $905 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling sizable analyst upside vs. current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Citigroup Adjusts Price Target on Caterpillar
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Caterpillar as a beneficiary of the AI/data-center build (generator sales surge) and its Nvidia tie-up is boosting the growth narrative and investor enthusiasm. Those thematic stories are helping push the stock into a buy-range for some investors. Is Caterpillar Actually An AI Stock? Caterpillar Excavates Buy Zone
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets point to Caterpillar’s strong earnings-surprise history and have lifted estimates, which supports expectations for another beat and underpins analyst optimism. Investors Heavily Search Caterpillar Inc. Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar held its dividend steady for now; analysts note a growing backlog and cash flow that make a hike plausible in the near term but no increase has been announced yet. CAT Holds Dividend Steady For Now
• Neutral Sentiment: High online search and coverage volumes (Zacks/Yahoo) show elevated investor attention — supportive for liquidity and momentum but not a direct fundamental change. Investors Heavily Search Caterpillar Inc.

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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