Griffith & Werner Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Griffith & Werner Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 854 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CAT. 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 report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT traded up $2.75 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $352.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,054,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,629,113. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $318.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $351.77. 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 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $165.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

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.