Fred Alger Management LLC Buys Shares of 100,181 Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 100,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,801,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,165,899,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,820,000 after purchasing an additional 12,278 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 155.9% in the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,014,000 after buying an additional 28,773 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $8,893,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $785.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $756.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $735.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $693.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $586.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $789.81.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total transaction of $1,797,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. Insiders have sold 135,950 shares of company stock worth $94,327,990 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.