Caterpillar Company Profile (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "CAT."

Caterpillar announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share on Saturday, August 19th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 18th. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. View Caterpillar's Dividend History.

Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE:CAT) announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July, 25th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.23. The firm earned $11.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.96 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 0.27% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. View Caterpillar's Earnings History.

Caterpillar is scheduled to release their next quarterly earnings announcement on Tuesday, October, 24th 2017. View Earnings Estimates for Caterpillar.

Caterpillar updated its FY17 earnings guidance on Tuesday, July, 25th. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $5.00 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus earnings per share estimate of $4.32. The company issued revenue guidance of $42-44 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $40.74 billion.

24 brokerages have issued 12-month price targets for Caterpillar's shares. Their forecasts range from $31.00 to $135.00. On average, they anticipate Caterpillar's share price to reach $105.95 in the next year. View Analyst Ratings for Caterpillar.

Here are some recent quotes from research analysts about Caterpillar stock:

• 1. BMO Capital Markets analysts commented, "hard to imagine a robust surge" in the near term. Nevertheless, the mining and energy sector as a whole has "passed the lows," and the company is well positioned to capitalize on its status as a leader in capital equipment and engines — when an upturn eventually arrives.Meanwhile, Caterpillar's cost-cutting initiatives, headcount reductions, improved sourcing and shuttering or consolidating more than 30 factories will reduce fixed costs by nearly $2 billion, the analyst continued. Also, the company can save another $750 million from the closings of two factories in Belgium and Illinois while incentive compensation fell by more than $1 billion since peaking in 2014 at $1.3 billion.Last, Caterpillar's new CEO Jim Umpleby is likely to focus on profitability, free cash flow, and returns as opposed to the recent CEO Doug Oberhelman who focused on penetrating new markets and gaining market share. As such, the company should now be viewed as "a whole different animal." (7/24/2017)
• 2. According to Zacks Investment Research, "Caterpillar’s May sales rose 8%, an improvement from 1% growth witnessed in the last two months thanks to continual improvement in Asia Pacific. It remains to be seen whether this momentum will be sustained as even though commodity prices have improved lately, it is not sufficient to drive a relevant increase in short-term demand for new equipment. Caterpillar guides revenues in the range of $38–$41 billion and earnings of $3.75 per share for 2017, a 2% and 10% year–over-year growth, respectively. In construction, Asia Pacific is showing promise while leading indicators of U.S. construction signal robust conditions ahead. The company’s efforts to reduce costs will help boost margins. Year to date, the stock has outperformed the Zacks sub industry. Also, it has a positive record of earnings surprises." (7/14/2017)
• 3. Jefferies Group LLC analysts commented, "Cost cuts continue to benefit margins despite ongoing market weakness. 4Q16 earnings, ex. adjustments, were better than expected on favorable decremental margins in Construction and E&T versus modeled expectations. With FX remaining a headwind CAT lowered the mid-point of the 2017 revenue guide to $37.5bln (prior: ~$38bln) resulting in EPS of $2.90 (Consensus: $3.06). Shares continue to trade above 30x earnings, a premium to prior cycles." (1/27/2017)

Some companies that are related to Caterpillar include ABB Ltd (ABB), Illinois Tool Works (ITW), Schneider Electric Unspon (SBGSY), Deere & Company (DE), Emerson Electric Company (EMR), Johnson Controls International PLC (JCI), Eaton Corporation, PLC (ETN), Komatsu (KMTUY), Roper Technologies (ROP), Ingersoll-Rand PLC (Ireland) (IR), Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), Parker-Hannifin Corporation (PH), Rockwell Automation (ROK), Sandvik AB (SDVKY), Tenaris S.A. (TS), Toray Industries (TRYIY), Ball Corporation (BLL) and Cintas Corporation (CTAS).

Caterpillar's management team includes the folowing people:

• Douglas R. Oberhelman, Chairman of the Board
• Donald James Umpleby III, Chief Executive Officer, Director
• Bradley M. Halverson, Group President, Chief Financial Officer
• Robert B. Charter, Group President
• Bob De Lange, Group President
• Denise C. Johnson, Group President
• Thomas A. Pellette, Group President
• Cheryl H. Johnson, Chief Human Resource Officer
• Jananne A. Copeland, Chief Accounting Officer
• Kyle Epley, Corporate Controller

Caterpillar's stock is owned by many different of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional investors include State Street Corp (8.61%), Vanguard Group Inc. (6.98%), Capital World Investors (3.58%), State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (3.56%), FMR LLC (3.32%) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp (1.32%). Company insiders that own Caterpillar stock include Bradley M Halverson, Daniel M Dickinson, David L Calhoun, Denise C Johnson, Dennis A Muilenburg, Lange Bob De, Suzette M Long and William A Osborn. View Institutional Ownership Trends for Caterpillar.

Caterpillar's stock was sold by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Capital Research Global Investors, Harris Associates L P, State Street Corp, Franklin Resources Inc., Cibc World Markets Corp, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc., Russell Investments Group Ltd. and State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D. Company insiders that have sold Caterpillar stock in the last year include Bradley M Halverson, Daniel M Dickinson, Suzette M Long and William A Osborn. View Insider Buying and Selling for Caterpillar.

Caterpillar's stock was bought by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Vanguard Group Inc., FMR LLC, Balyasny Asset Management LLC, Jennison Associates LLC, Renaissance Technologies LLC, Janus Henderson Group PLC, Ameriprise Financial Inc. and Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC. Company insiders that have bought Caterpillar stock in the last two years include David L Calhoun, Denise C Johnson, Dennis A Muilenburg and Lange Bob De. View Insider Buying and Selling for Caterpillar.

Shares of Caterpillar can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages include Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Scottrade, Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

One share of Caterpillar stock can currently be purchased for approximately $113.14.