HM Payson & Co. Acquires 26,430 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 20.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 155,871 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 26,430 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $51,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,429,416,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $399.33. 1,737,838 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,524,822. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company's 50-day moving average price is $351.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $346.95. The company has a market cap of $188.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Caterpillar Company 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.