Mariner LLC Purchases 11,387 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 307,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,387 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $146,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 107.0% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 89 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $625.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $730.50.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total value of $1,797,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 35,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,222,221.19. This represents a 6.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $700.09 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $789.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $325.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $695.58 and a 200-day moving average of $587.94.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.