Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.63

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of 1.63 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is a 7.9% increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51.

Caterpillar has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 30 consecutive years. Caterpillar has a dividend payout ratio of 28.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Caterpillar to earn $30.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.8%.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $856.74 on Thursday. Caterpillar has a one year low of $355.70 and a one year high of $946.83. The company has a market cap of $394.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $844.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $722.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 24.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $915.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $933.27.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.