Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys 1,773 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,773 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $568.86 per share, with a total value of $170,658.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,730.42. The trade was a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,539 shares of company stock valued at $40,339,032. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $677.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $679.48.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $702.84 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $710.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $328.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.58. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $609.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $524.56.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Trending Headlines about Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and data-center demand — Caterpillar reported revenue and EPS above estimates, with Power & Energy sales up sharply as data-center buildouts drove demand for natural-gas turbines and backup power. That beat reinforces near-term earnings momentum. CAT Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raising price targets — Multiple firms (including Truist and Citi) bumped CAT targets and kept buy ratings, giving the stock fresh upward catalysts and validating the post-earnings narrative. Analyst Price Target Raises
• Positive Sentiment: Record backlog and multi-year growth visibility — Management cites a record ~$51B backlog and sees 5–7% annual sales through 2030, supported by planned capacity spend (higher 2026 capex) that could convert backlog into revenue over time. MarketBeat CAT Analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Large shareholder returns narrative — Coverage highlighting the company’s strong free-cash-flow returns and sizable capital returns program can support investor sentiment. Forbes: Shareholder Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic tech partnership — ACI won a multi-year engagement to modernize Caterpillar’s digital infrastructure; operationally useful but unlikely to move near-term revenue much. ACI Partnership PR
• Neutral Sentiment: Product rollout — New compact 308CR mini-excavator announced; supports product-cycle narrative but is incremental to overall results. 308CR Mini-Excavator
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Two senior insiders disclosed sizable sales (multi-million-dollar disposals), reducing their stakes. While often routine, large insider sales can weigh on sentiment if interpreted as profit-taking at lofty valuations. Insider Sale Filing

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.