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

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 10th, RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 1.40%.

Caterpillar has raised its dividend payment 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 payout ratio of 23.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $372.07. 2,147,779 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,443,622. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $204.04 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $340.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.61.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.89.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FIL Ltd acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $365,000. Burford Brothers Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $468,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. DRW Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.