Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) To Go Ex-Dividend on July 21st

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 11th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of 1.51 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a 7.1% increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41.

Caterpillar has a payout ratio of 26.7% 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 Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of CAT opened at $360.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $169.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $325.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $348.98.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Caterpillar stock. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.92.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.