Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Takes $1.82 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,818,000. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 1.4% of Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $372.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded up $4.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $353.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,605,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,326. The company has a 50-day moving average of $320.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $349.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $166.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.