Wellington Management Group LLP Boosts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP dramatically boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3,949.8%, adding 5,098,964 shares to hold 5,228,058 shares (about 1.12% of the company) valued at roughly $2.495 billion.
• Caterpillar beat quarterly expectations with EPS $5.16 vs. $4.67 est. and revenue of $19.13 billion (up 17.9% YoY), and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $730.50 target amid several raised price objectives.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently, disposing of 135,950 shares worth about $94.3 million in the past 90 days, including sales by CEO Joseph E. Creed and director Bob De Lange.

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3,949.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 1.12% of Caterpillar worth $2,494,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthShield Partners LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% in the third quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 619 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the third quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 3,214 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cyr Financial Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the third quarter. Cyr Financial Inc. now owns 811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,719 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:CAT opened at $693.89 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $322.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $693.92 and a 200 day moving average of $583.93. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $789.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Williams Trading set a $825.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 price target on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $640.00 to $790.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $730.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 35,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,222,221.19. The trade was a 6.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Profile

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.

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