Caterpillar maintains dividend rate

Caterpillar Inc, announced it will maintain its quarterly cash dividend rate of 60 a share for the fourth quarter.

Caterpillar's board of directors voted Wednesday to maintain the rate, which will be payable Feb. 20, 2014 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 21, 2014, the company said.

"Following the 15-percent increase in our quarterly dividend announced in June and $2 billion in stock repurchase completed this year, this action is another demonstration of how we are taking advantage of our strong balance sheet and cash flow to return capital to stockholders," said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman, in a news release.

Caterpillar has paid higher dividends to its stockholders for 20 consecutive years and since 1998, the company's cash dividend has more than tripled. Including this announcement, Caterpillar has paid a cash dividend every year since the company was formed and has paid a quarterly dividend since 1933.

Also on Wednesday, three directors announced their plans to retire from the board. David R. Goode, Charles D. Powell, and Joshua I. Smith announced their retirement would be effective Dec. 31.

Goode is chairman of the Compensation Committee, Powell is chairman of the Public Policy Committee, and Smith is a member of the Compensation Committee. The retirements are the result of these individuals reaching the Company's mandatory retirement age for directors as provided in the company's Guidelines on Corporate Governance Issues. That age is 72.

Caterpillar has had an up-and-down year financially as world economics continue to keep sales and revenues below earlier expectations, particularly in the mining industry. Still, it has been a profitable year for the company, which had a profit of $2.786 billion, or $4.21 a share, through the first nine months of 2013. That was about 43 percent below a year earlier, however.

The company is scheduled to make its 2013 year-end earnings report on Jan. 27, 2014.

About the Author

Paul Gordon is the editor of The Peorian after spending 29 years of indentured servitude at the Peoria Journal Star. He’s an award-winning writer, raconteur and song-and-dance man. He also went to a high school whose team name is the Alices (that’s Vincennes Lincoln High School in Indiana; you can look it up).