Prospera Financial Services Inc Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Prospera Financial Services increased its Caterpillar stake by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 88,450 shares worth about $50.7 million.
• Caterpillar posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.54 versus $4.65 expected and revenue of $17.42 billion, up 22.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on CAT, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $923.14, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,450 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 16,785 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 0.8% of Prospera Financial Services Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Prospera Financial Services Inc's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $50,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $8,893,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,010 shares during the last quarter. Juno Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $877,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

More Caterpillar News

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

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6%

CAT stock opened at $880.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $336.24 and a twelve month high of $931.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $791.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $690.84.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 30.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, February 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Truist Financial set a $1,043.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Williams Trading set a $825.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $790.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $923.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 100,551 shares of company stock valued at $91,170,351. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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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