Leelyn Smith LLC Purchases Shares of 5,470 Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

04 Jul 2026, 12:54 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

Leelyn Smith LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,572,681,000 after purchasing an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,273,039,000 after buying an additional 385,204 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,072,572,000 after buying an additional 94,524 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,438,408,000 after buying an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased 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 acquiring an additional 928,974 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target on Caterpillar to $1,218 from $1,043 and kept a buy rating, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock’s earnings and growth outlook. Article Link
Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Caterpillar as a momentum, long-term, and “trending” stock, suggesting investor interest remains strong and could help keep shares elevated. Article Link
Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators pointed to Caterpillar’s role in powering data centers and other AI-related infrastructure, a theme that has helped explain the stock’s strong run. Article Link
Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar also received fresh praise for strong backlog, earnings growth, and long-term expansion plans, which supports the case for continued upside. Article Link
Neutral Sentiment: Caterpillar announced a $5 million investment in Texas workforce training and manufacturing education, a positive long-term initiative but not likely a major near-term stock driver. Article Link
Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street analyst coverage remains broadly optimistic, with multiple articles noting favorable average brokerage recommendations, though these do not always translate into reliable signals. Article Link
Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry disclosed a first-ever short position in Caterpillar, arguing the stock’s AI-linked rally may have stretched valuation too far; that news is likely the main source of pressure on shares today. Article Link

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $965.44 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $918.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $769.03. The company has a market capitalization of $444.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $388.09 and a fifty-two week high of $1,073.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total value of $326,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 530 shares in the company, valued at $480,180. The trade was a 40.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $1,165.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $1,043.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $949.41.

View Our Latest Research Report on Caterpillar

Caterpillar Profile

(Free Report)

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.