Griffin Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $394.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $190.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $381.07 and a 200 day moving average of $369.79. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $297.45 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.