HM Payson & Co. Sells 12,933 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

HM Payson & Co. decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 125,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,933 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $59,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after purchasing an additional 208,196 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after acquiring an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,295,432,000 after acquiring an additional 33,467 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $583.09 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $627.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $272.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $568.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $478.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,730.42. This trade represents a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,895 shares of company stock worth $34,007,516. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $616.00.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.