Kennebec Savings Bank Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Kennebec Savings Bank cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AA Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $222,000. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 498.6% in the fourth quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 15,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,730,000 after buying an additional 13,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $382.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction 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 $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $375.98 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $381.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $370.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $299.93 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $181.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.