Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.30

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 10th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of 1.30 per share by the industrial products company on Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th.

Caterpillar has increased its dividend by an average of 6.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 29 consecutive years. Caterpillar has a dividend payout ratio of 23.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Caterpillar to earn $22.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.7%.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CAT opened at $358.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $178.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $345.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 730.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 272.4% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% 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.