LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) by 16.3% in first quarter,now holding 6,720 shares after selling 1,309 shares. Holdings valued around $4.76 million.
Big investors are reshuffling stakes in the industrial giant. Advisory Re added 13 shares, upping its stake by 8% in fourth quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC raised its position by 1.1% in same period, now holding 1,164 shares worth about $825,000 .
Other shifts: Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC boosted holdings by 2.6%,Sylvest Advisors LLC by 3.6%. Both bought 13 shares in first quarter. Invst LLC increased stake by 1.9% in fourth quarter,adding 14 shares,totaling 753 valued at $431,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of Caterpillar stock.
Meanwhile,Caterpillar's CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares May 6,generating about $14.4 million . His ownership dropped 22.85%, leaving him with 52,935 shares worth nearly $48.6 million . Another insider, Jason Kaiser, sold 5,642 shares May 4, totaling about $4.98 million,cutting his holdings by 37.03%.
Insiders offloaded 95,773 shares valued at roughly $87.6 million over past 90 days . Insiders now hold just 0.33% of company stock.
Despite these moves,market sentiment on Caterpillar is mixed. Analysts see potential due to AI infrastructure demand,especially in data centers. Bullish outlook: several analysts hiked price targets. Citigroup upped its target from $905 to $1,020 with 'buy' rating.
Other firms adjusted projections too. Wolfe Research raised its objective from $670 to $750,DA Davidson from $650 to $845. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted target from $769 to $879,reflecting positive analyst sentiment.
By midday Friday, Caterpillar's stock rose 1.5% to $952.42,with 1.96 million shares traded. Market cap at $438.68 billion, P/E ratio of 47.41. Trading range over 52 weeks: $401.70 to $1,073.46.
In latest earnings,Caterpillar reported EPS of $5.54,beating expectations of $4.65. Revenue hit $17.41 billion,up 22.2% from last year, beating $16.53 billion estimates.
Looking ahead,Caterpillar declared quarterly dividend of $1.63,payable August 19 to shareholders of record by July 20. An increase from previous $1.51, underscoring commitment to shareholder value.
