Grant Street Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Grant Street Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Grant Street Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $350.97 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $363.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $372.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.