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

by · The Markets Daily

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 10th, RTT News reports. Shareholders 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 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio of 23.1% indicating that 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 Price Performance

CAT opened at $371.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $341.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $185.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar has a 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.89.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Caterpillar

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 376.7% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 636.4% during the 2nd quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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