Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Stake Lifted by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $4,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 1,180.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 64 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 13,370 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.63, for a total transaction of $5,048,913.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,725,268.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on DE shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $395.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Deere & Company from $385.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $456.00 price target on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Deere & Company from $483.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $427.13.

Deere & Company Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:DE traded up $3.73 on Friday, reaching $365.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,004,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,511,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $378.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $385.38. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $345.93 and a 1-year high of $450.00. The firm has a market cap of $100.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.93.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $8.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.86 by $0.67. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 42.26%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 25.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.70%.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.