Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Acquired Rep. Bruce Westerman

Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) recently bought shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT). In a filing disclosed on April 16th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Caterpillar stock on March 3rd. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FISHER IRA” account.

Representative Bruce Westerman also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne (OTCMKTS:LVMUY) on 4/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Sony Group (NYSE:SONY) on 3/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MUFG) on 3/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BP (NYSE:BP) on 3/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) on 3/20/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Visa (NYSE:V) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 3/20/2025.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $293.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $328.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $364.66. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $361.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Westerman

Bruce Westerman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2015. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Westerman (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Westerman earned his BSBAGE in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1990 and his MF in forestry from Yale University in 2001. His professional experience includes working as a plant engineer for Riceland Foods and an engineer/forester for Mid-South Engineering Company.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.