Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 61.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 925,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 352,961 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.20% of Caterpillar worth $441,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,165,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,494,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Caterpillar by 1,851.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,830,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $873,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,631 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 425.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,738,000 after purchasing an additional 616,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 20.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,695,757,000 after buying an additional 609,023 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,574,954.83. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total value of $26,656,109.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,524,818. This trade represents a 47.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $729.00 to $817.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $678.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, February 6th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $730.50.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:CAT opened at $693.89 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $789.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $693.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $586.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.53.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

About Caterpillar

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.