HM Payson & Co. Has $51.12 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 140.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 130,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,260 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $51,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 215.4% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $358.19.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CAT traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $376.28. The stock had a trading volume of 141,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,258. The business’s 50 day moving average is $371.10 and its 200-day moving average is $351.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $182.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.