Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) To Go Ex-Dividend on October 26th

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Monday, October 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th.

Caterpillar has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 30 consecutive years. Caterpillar has a payout ratio of 30.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Caterpillar to earn $33.46 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.5%.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded down $17.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $686.52. 3,016,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,596,919. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $521.02 and a twelve month high of $1,073.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $798.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $855.65.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%. The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar will post 27.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a manufacturer of construction, mining, and industrial equipment. Its product portfolio includes excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, motor graders, articulated trucks, and other machinery used in construction, infrastructure development, mining, quarrying, forestry, and related industries. The company also produces diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, generator sets, and other power-generation and transportation equipment.

Caterpillar operates through businesses focused on construction industries, resource industries, and energy and transportation.