HM Payson & Co. Sells 1,268 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

HM Payson & Co. lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,441 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,268 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $46,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $512,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,825,000. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 96,819 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,112 shares during the period. Camden National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 2,416 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 698,099 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $273,525,000 after acquiring an additional 76,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $383.80.

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Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $9.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $350.97. The company had a trading volume of 3,061,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,377. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $363.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.98. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.