Zacks Research Predicts Increased Earnings for Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Caterpillar in a research note issued on Thursday, November 28th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $5.30 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $5.28. The consensus estimate for Caterpillar’s current full-year earnings is $21.67 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Caterpillar’s Q4 2025 earnings at $5.65 EPS.

CAT has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $399.24 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $392.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $358.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $252.42 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after buying an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after buying an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.