Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in Caterpillar by 16.2% in Q4, selling 1,871 shares and leaving 9,688 shares valued at $5.55 million.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently: Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares (~$26.66M) and CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares, with insiders totaling 125,950 shares sold (~$88.58M) over the last 90 days while owning just 0.33% of the company.
• Caterpillar beat quarterly EPS estimates ($5.16 vs. $4.67) with 17.9% revenue growth, reaffirmed a $1.51 quarterly dividend, and has attracted multiple price‑target raises resulting in a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (average target $767.77).

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,871 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 681 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Security Financial Services INC. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 3,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,729,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. KWB Wealth boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 549 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,926,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 43,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,524,818. This represents a 47.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 35,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,222,221.19. This represents a 6.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 125,950 shares of company stock worth $88,577,390. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird upgraded CAT and raised its price target sharply (from $805 to $940), citing stronger fundamentals and boosting short‑term sentiment — this upgrade helped drive recent upside. Caterpillar NYSE: CAT Stock Price Up 3.3% Following Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar reaffirmed its dividend (quarterly $1.51, paid May 19), supporting shareholder-return expectations and attracting income-focused investors. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) Asserts Commitment to Shareholder Value Amid Management Change
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and screens expect Caterpillar earnings to continue growing into the next report — that prospect of further earnings beats is a fundamental positive supporting the rally. Caterpillar (CAT) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term thematic coverage highlights CAT’s exposure to AI/data‑center power and automation, reframing the company beyond traditional heavy equipment and supporting a higher multiple for some investors. More Than Just Dirt: Caterpillar Is the AI Stock Nobody Saw Coming
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Andrew Bonfield announced retirement in October; internal successor Kyle Epley will take over in May — management continuity reduces disruption risk, but any leadership change bears watching. Caterpillar (CAT) CFO Andrew Bonfield to Retire
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces call out the very strong short‑term run (30–90 day gains) and prompt a valuation check — this fuels both bullish momentum and investor caution about stretched multiples. Caterpillar (CAT) Valuation Check After A Strong Short Term Share Price Run
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its numerical target slightly but kept an Underweight rating, signaling macro and cyclical downside risk to earnings that could pressure the stock if industrial demand softens. Morgan Stanley Ups Caterpillar (CAT) Target to $430, Flags Macro Risks to Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary and "avoid" pieces warn that the post‑earnings rally may have priced in too much growth — these narratives can accelerate profit‑taking by momentum traders. 3 Reasons to Avoid CAT and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $830.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $740.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $646.65. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $302.17 and a twelve month high of $845.27. The company has a market capitalization of $386.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.13, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.14 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 22.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $625.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $678.00 to $769.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $765.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $767.77.

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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