Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Plans $1.41 Quarterly Dividend

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 9th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of 1.41 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st.

Caterpillar has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 30 consecutive years. Caterpillar has a payout ratio of 25.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Caterpillar to earn $22.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.5%.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $293.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $327.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $363.98. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $140.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued 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 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Caterpillar stock. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $361.64.

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.