MSH Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 873 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

MSH Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the period. MSH Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Caterpillar by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,893,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $79,053,000 after buying an additional 4,010 shares during the period. Juno Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $877,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 73,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,023,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.0%

CAT stock opened at $880.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $795.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $694.03. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $336.24 and a fifty-two week high of $931.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $405.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.63.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 30.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CAT shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. HSBC lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $923.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 98,273 shares of company stock worth $89,439,960 in the last quarter. 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.