Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Franklin Resources trimmed its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0%, selling 5,399 shares in Q3 and now holds 513,497 shares (≈0.11%) valued at about $245.0 million.
• Caterpillar beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $5.16 versus $4.67 and revenue of $19.13 billion (up 17.9% year-over-year), supporting its strong valuation and recent trading near a 52-week high.
• Analyst upgrades and commercial wins are boosting sentiment—multiple firms raised price targets (e.g., HSBC $850, Oppenheimer $817) while Caterpillar landed a ~1.4 GW power-generation deal (~$840M) and expanded AI/telematics in its rental business.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 513,497 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,399 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Caterpillar worth $245,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the period. United Bank increased its position in Caterpillar by 108.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,551,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.9% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $700.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $789.81. The company's 50 day moving average price is $692.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $582.12. The company has a market capitalization of $325.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Caterpillar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target to $785 (from $760) and reiterated a Buy, citing strong U.S. construction demand shown at ConExpo — a validation of near-term equipment demand and a direct bullish signal for CAT shares. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades (multiple outlets) have lifted the stock in recent sessions, reflecting improved sell-side conviction on growth and dividends. Upgrades can attract investor inflows and support the price. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar signed a Global Framework Agreement to supply Atlas Energy Solutions with ~1.4 GW of power generation assets (~$840M) for 2027–2029 — a substantial multi-year order that diversifies revenue into power solutions and supports longer-term backlog and revenue visibility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Cat Rentals brand refresh adds Cat AI Assistant and expanded telematics — this digital push can increase rental utilization, attach higher-margin services, and improve recurring service revenue and margins over time. Investors view services/telemetry as margin-accretive. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer and other analysts highlight an “AI-infused” industrial cycle (machines, power, physical AI) where Caterpillar is a beneficiary — a thematic tailwind that supports higher multiple / long-term demand for equipment and power infrastructure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market note: recent data points and headlines show day-to-day volatility — e.g., reports that CAT “suffered a larger drop than the market” are descriptive of trading action but don’t change the underlying order/margin catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market selloff (Dow fell sharply) is weighing on CAT today — macro-driven risk-off and concerns about financials/interest rates dragged industrial names, prompting the intraday decline despite company-level positives. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $729.00 to $817.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $640.00 to $790.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $730.50.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,001,197.95. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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