WoodTrust Financial Corp Buys 1,597 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• WoodTrust Financial boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 256.8%, buying an additional 1,597 shares to hold 2,219 shares worth about $1.27 million at quarter end.
• Caterpillar materially beat Q1 expectations—EPS $5.54 vs. $4.57 and revenue $17.42B vs. $16.43B—sending the stock up to roughly $880; management returned about $5.7B in buybacks/dividends and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51 ($6.04 annual).
• Insiders sold heavily last quarter (125,950 shares worth ~$88.6M) while institutional investors own about 70.98% of the stock and insiders own ~0.33%.

WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 256.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $1,585,000 after buying an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Caterpillar by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 572,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $222,120,000 after buying an additional 34,846 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 972 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.20, for a total transaction of $742,802.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $629,700.80. The trade was a 54.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodney Michael Shurman sold 2,278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $759.61, for a total value of $1,730,391.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,443 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,117.23. The trade was a 61.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 125,950 shares of company stock worth $88,577,390. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded up $70.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $880.52. 1,185,742 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,668,562. 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's 50 day moving average price is $744.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $653.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $409.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.52. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $311.02 and a 1 year high of $882.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.57 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.43 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 22.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. CICC Research began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, February 6th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $765.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $767.77.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results materially beat expectations — adjusted EPS and revenue topped Wall Street forecasts, driving the move higher. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong sales across construction and power segments, with construction‑industries sales notably up, underpin confidence in continued order strength and backlog. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management returned capital aggressively in Q1 (~$5.7B in buybacks/dividends), supporting EPS and shareholder yield. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Power & energy growth catalyst — a framework agreement with PROPWR to supply up to 2.1 GW of generation assets expands Caterpillar’s addressable market in data centers and industrial power. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts were broadly positioned for a beat coming into the print; some brokerages have nudged FY estimates higher, reflecting the stronger quarter but also raising expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: broader indices are reacting to big‑cap tech beats and commodity moves this morning — Caterpillar’s performance is helped by sector and market tailwinds. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and margin risks — some analysts caution that premium multiple and rising costs could limit upside if demand softens or margins compress. Investors should weigh the beat against a lofty valuation. Read More.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.