Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 548,251 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,248 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.11% of Caterpillar worth $198,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,193,154,000 after acquiring an additional 61,723 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $18.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $287.57. 7,214,330 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,567,844. The stock has a market cap of $137.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $346.83 and a 200-day moving average of $371.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $281.50 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was 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 owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar 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.