Waddell & Associates LLC Raises Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Posted by Francis Steltz on Aug 16th, 2026

Waddell & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Free Report) by 74.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth 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 grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,273,039,000 after buying an additional 385,204 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in 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 lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.0% during 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. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar ended the second quarter with a record $72 billion backlog, signaling sustained demand for heavy equipment and supporting the company’s upgraded 2026 sales outlook. Growth is reportedly broad-based across major business segments. CAT Ends Q2 With Record Backlog: Is Demand Momentum Here to Stay?
Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded CAT from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding to the favorable analyst sentiment surrounding the shares. The company’s average brokerage recommendation is also equivalent to “buy.” Zacks Research rating
Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results provide fundamental support: Caterpillar reported revenue of $20.54 billion, up 23.7% year over year, and earnings of $8.17 per share, well above consensus expectations.
Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain cautiously optimistic. Caterpillar has outperformed the broader market over the past year, but consensus views already anticipate that the recent revenue boom will moderate. Do Wall Street Analysts Like Caterpillar Stock?
Negative Sentiment: One analysis argues that Caterpillar’s elevated valuation will depend increasingly on margin improvement rather than continued backlog growth. If revenue growth fades without stronger profitability, the stock’s valuation could remain difficult to justify. Caterpillar’s Falling Multiple Rests On Margin, Not Its Backlog
Negative Sentiment: The bullish brokerage consensus may be less informative because sell-side analysts often issue overly optimistic recommendations. Investors may therefore focus more on execution, margins and backlog conversion than on the average rating alone. Brokers Suggest Investing in Caterpillar

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. Barclays lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $1,002.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $995.52.

View Our Latest Analysis on CAT

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $856.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $393.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.60. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $405.46 and a fifty-two week high of $1,073.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $915.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $826.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%.The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 26.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

About Caterpillar

(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.

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)

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