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

HM Payson & Co. reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,933 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $59,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,165,899,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Caterpillar by 546.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 425.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $295,738,000 after purchasing an additional 616,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,777,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $848,177,000 after purchasing an additional 478,972 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “mixed” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price objective (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $616.00.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $583.09 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $568.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $478.35. The stock has a market cap 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $627.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the sale, the chairman owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,895 shares of company stock valued at $34,007,516. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.