Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Acquired by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 20.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,515 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 109.1% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $491.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $511.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $443.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $384.49.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $478.20.

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.