MJP Associates Inc. ADV Acquires 618 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 62.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,974,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $1,300,000. EWG Elevate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.67.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $325.47 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $153.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $316.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $354.96.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

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.