Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $371.88 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $179.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $380.88 and a 200-day moving average of $371.07. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $299.93 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,236 shares of company stock worth $12,102,371 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.