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 given 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 dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th.

Caterpillar has raised its dividend by an average of 6.7% annually 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 Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of CAT opened at $359.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.35. The company has a market cap of $179.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar has a one year low of $204.04 and a one year high of $382.01. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.86 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 21.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 3,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $856,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Somerville Kurt F lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 3,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.