Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $980.5714.

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $790.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst updates turned incrementally more optimistic on Caterpillar’s earnings outlook, with Erste Group Bank and Zacks Research lifting FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and several quarterly EPS estimates. Higher profit expectations can support the stock by reinforcing the view that CAT’s long-term demand and pricing power remain solid.
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentary pieces highlighted Caterpillar as a leading industrial and equipment name versus peers like Volvo, citing stronger earnings momentum, rising estimates, and long-term growth tied to infrastructure, electrification, automation, and AI data-center buildout demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage noted Wall Street is expecting Caterpillar’s upcoming Q2 2026 report to show another double-digit profit increase, which keeps investor attention focused on whether results can justify the stock’s premium valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Caterpillar as a high-quality company with a strong brand and global dealer network, but also warned that the valuation looks rich. That limits near-term upside unless earnings growth continues to outpace expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Caterpillar was also mentioned in broader market weakness and “AI selloff” coverage, and Zacks Research downgraded the stock from strong-buy to hold. That suggests some investors are becoming more cautious after the recent run-up.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total value of $4,982,055.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,789.82. This trade represents a 37.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,140,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,224,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136,020 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $1,225,317,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 573.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $861,947,000 after buying an additional 1,281,087 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,860,457,000 after buying an additional 928,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 8,359.6% during the 4th quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 513,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $294,314,000 after acquiring an additional 507,681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5%

CAT opened at $881.26 on Monday. Caterpillar has a 52 week low of $405.46 and a 52 week high of $1,073.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $931.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $793.45. The firm has a market cap of $405.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 24.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.06%.

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.