Camden National Bank Increases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Camden National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 56.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the quarter. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,193,154,000 after acquiring an additional 61,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,531,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $555,461,000 after acquiring an additional 47,689 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $350.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $363.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

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.