Griffin Asset Management Inc. Has $6.16 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Opinicus Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $250,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 18,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 25,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,283,000 after purchasing an additional 12,585 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 9,869 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,616,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.63.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

CAT stock traded up $5.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $333.10. 8,891,479 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,519,845. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $340.31 and its 200-day moving average is $328.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $162.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.