The Dividend Daily

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) on Friday released its December retail metrics which showed a slowdown in the global sale of machines and power systems.

The construction and mining equipment machine manufacturer posted a -1% fall in overall global retail sales of machines. The company did see positive sales growth in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. However, the coveted Asia/Pacific market was down -7% and North America was down -6%.

The company’s power system sales were overall down -2%, with Industrial and Transportation systems posting the biggest drop, down -20% and -11% respectively.

Caterpillar shares were down $1.26, or -1.30%, during pre-market trading on Friday. The stock is down -12.4% over the past year.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Caterpillar (CAT) have a 2.15% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $96.60. The stock has technical support in the $88-$90 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $100-$101 price levels.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.