Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 54,069 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management increased its Caterpillar stake by 54,069 shares in the fourth quarter, bringing its total to 9.49 million shares worth about $5.44 billion. Caterpillar now makes up 1.8% of Fisher’s portfolio and is its 10th largest holding.
• Caterpillar reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.54 versus estimates of $4.65 and revenue of $17.42 billion versus $16.53 billion expected. Revenue rose 22.2% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 24.67.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating at “Moderate Buy.” The stock also has strong institutional ownership, though insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises 1.8% of Fisher Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 2.03% of Caterpillar worth $5,438,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 7.3% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,237,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $8,893,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $79,053,000 after buying an additional 4,010 shares during the last quarter. Juno Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $877,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 73,363 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,023,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $880.23 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $791.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $691.69. The company has a market cap of $405.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.81, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.63. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $336.24 and a 1 year high of $931.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total value of $14,928,254.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total transaction of $326,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $480,180. The trade was a 40.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 98,273 shares of company stock valued at $89,439,960 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,103.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, May 11th. HSBC increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $923.14.

Caterpillar Company 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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