De Lange Bob 4

What Happened

• Bob De Lange, Group President of Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), exercised stock options and sold shares on Feb 4, 2026. He exercised 20,000 options at a $138.35 strike (cost $2,767,000) and converted the derivative position. To cover taxes/exercise obligations, 3,930 shares were surrendered/withheld (valued at ~$2.77M). He sold 16,070 shares in the open market in several trades for a combined proceeds of approximately $11,328,811 (sales at weighted averages of ~$704.42 and ~$705.70, plus one small trade at $706.28).

Key Details

• Transaction date: February 4, 2026 (reported on Form 4 filed Feb 5, 2026).
• Exercise: 20,000 shares @ $138.35 (total exercise cost $2,767,000).
• Tax withholding/settlement: 3,930 shares withheld/disposed @ weighted avg ~$704.04 (proceeds reported $2,766,877).
• Open-market sales: 9,223 shares @ $704.42 (≈ $6,496,866); 6,817 shares @ $705.70 (≈ $4,810,757); 30 shares @ $706.28 (≈ $21,188). Total open-market proceeds ≈ $11,328,811.
• Footnotes: Sales were executed in multiple trades with reported weighted-average prices (ranges noted in the filing). Option grant details: options were granted under the 2014 LTIP on March 4, 2019 and vest in 1/3 increments over three years (footnote F4).
• Shares owned after the transaction: not specified in the provided excerpt of the filing.
• Timeliness: Filing was submitted the day after the transactions (period of report 2026-02-04; filed 2026-02-05), indicating a timely Form 4.

Context

• This was an exercise of previously granted options followed by sales to satisfy withholding and to monetize remaining shares — a common "cashless" pattern when executives exercise deeply in-the-money options (strike $138.35 vs. market ~$705).
• These sales are routine insider liquidity following an option exercise and do not, by themselves, indicate a change in company outlook.