Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Shares Up 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) traded up 2.1% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $745.00 and last traded at $740.1980. Approximately 2,069,507 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 2,818,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $725.24.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects Caterpillar to report year-over-year earnings growth next week, and analysts identify a favorable combination of earnings-estimate revisions and the company’s history of exceeding expectations. Caterpillar Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks lists Caterpillar among industrial companies with potential to beat third-quarter estimates, supported by manufacturing strength and solid demand. Its Earnings ESP methodology also points to possible upside. Industrial Stocks Set to Outshine Q3 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: A recent hammer chart pattern suggests CAT may have found technical support, while upward analyst estimate revisions strengthen the potential for a rebound. Bears Are Losing Control Over Caterpillar
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar maintained its dividend, with coverage supported by strong cash flow, a reported $72 billion backlog and a higher 2026 sales-growth outlook. CAT Keeps Dividend Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: CAT recently outperformed the broader market in one session, but that gain followed substantial weakness and does not yet establish a durable trend. Caterpillar Laps the Stock Market
• Negative Sentiment: Caterpillar fell about 10% over the past month while the S&P 500 edged higher, with much of the damage concentrated in three sessions. Separate analysis is assessing how much further the stock could fall, keeping valuation and post-rally profit-taking concerns in focus. Caterpillar Dropped 10% in a Month

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Freedom Broker upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $980.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. President Capital began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $999.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $749.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $967.83.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.2%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $802.23 and a 200-day moving average of $856.84. The company has a market cap of $316.53 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%. The business had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total transaction of $26,211,760.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,954,303.90. This trade represents a 48.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,457,153,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $5,818,150,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 68,427.2% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,192,710,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,783,451,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a manufacturer of construction, mining, and industrial equipment. Its product portfolio includes excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, motor graders, articulated trucks, and other machinery used in construction, infrastructure development, mining, quarrying, forestry, and related industries. The company also produces diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, generator sets, and other power-generation and transportation equipment.

Caterpillar operates through businesses focused on construction industries, resource industries, and energy and transportation.