Kinloch Capital LLC Acquires 262 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Kinloch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 262 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.9% of Kinloch Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Kinloch Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $352.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week 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.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.33.

Caterpillar Company 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.